


Neo Killing Game

by starrshard



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Danganronpa/My Hero Academia crossover, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, Murder Mystery, Psychological Trauma, Psychology, The nejire/momo ship is only for the 60th chapter of this fic for one of the bonuses i'm sorry, Triggers, psychological fiction, romance is not the focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2020-07-30 09:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 60
Words: 252,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20094793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrshard/pseuds/starrshard
Summary: The villains have finally won, and the star students of U.A. have been captured. The League decides to throw their hostages into a Killing Game, Danganronpa-style.As the game begins, the new villain-run society gets to watch the great Class 1-A and company tear themselves apart....A My Hero Academia/Danganronpa crossover fic....Outfit Gallery: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xRss3Jd2ep5iL56w39Zl5GGRSLDYNavOt-GfBQepdAU/edit?usp=sharingFanart Gallery: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RoG5hd8mWxmIibWsjXF9dFT8o-EG8vKnnw5pL4zHBlM/edit?usp=sharingBoth galleries assuredly take an age to load because they're full of image files.





	1. Prologue : Yuuei Gone Rogue - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warnings will be put in the top notes for parts when needed.
> 
> the couples will act like couples, but they won't be the focus of the story. there will be scattered moments for each couple, but it does not contribute to the plot at all. the main focus of the story, aside from the killing game, tends to lean towards the psychology of characters more often than not.
> 
> the prologue sets things up; the killing game begins at chapter 1. a death occurs in the prologue, though, so i wouldn't recommend skipping it.
> 
> each "chapter" has several "parts".

_The villains have won._

Izuku Midoriya didn't know how it had happened.

How All For One had defeated All Might.

After everything that had happened, how could the heroes just... _lose?_

Life tried to go on, despite the death of the Number One Hero and the rise of the villains. All was in vain, however, as from the shadows came all of the evil the world could possibly harbor. The League of Villains was growing.

U.A. tried to continue on teaching their heroes-to-be. The dorms were built in a valiant effort to keep the students together and protect them, as well as to find the traitor that set this sequence of disasters into motion.

The Provisional License test came and went, with everybody passing this time around. In times like this, petty rivalries and grudges against _certain_ heroes were set aside, with the threat of villains overtaking hero society growing greater with every passing day.

The previously planned Internships were to go on, despite the debate and controversy with the police and authorities. The rescue of Eri from the Eight Bullets went as planned, with the girl being successfully taken from Chisaki and quickly forming a bond with Izuku, Mirio, and Aizawa.

But now, with the Cultural Festival cancelled due to the heightened villain activity as of late, the students had nothing to do but continue with classes and worry about an attack.

Said impending attack came one late winter evening.

Class 1-A had been visited in their dorm building by Mei, who had been recommending new costume features for the class. Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki came by as well to accompany Eri and discuss the suspended internships.

The delicate winter peace of that fateful evening was interrupted by a sneak attack on the dorms by the League.

The grudgingly created alliance between a weakened Chisaki -weakened, as in, he now had prosthetic arms- and the growing League allowed for an extraordinary attack of massive scale. Their entrance had been blasting right through a wall, showering everyone with debris. Izuku's first response had been to get Eri and those crushed by the rubble to a safer place- basically anywhere other than the battlefield.

"Come on, Kouji, Hitoshi!" Izuku cried desperately over his shoulder to his two classmates trailing behind him. Kouji was limping heavily, dragging along his bloodied right leg, his eyes unfocused and his gait unsteady. Hitoshi had his arms wrapped around his chest and his posture was slumped, due to his broken ribs and possibly a strained shoulder. Aside from the delayed shock, they'd both have to get first-aid soon, lest the wounds cause internal bleeding, organ damage, gain infection, or otherwise.

Okay, maybe Izuku shouldn't have reeled off that list of possible negatives in his head. That only made this situation worse.

He himself had his arms occupied. He was carrying an unconscious Mei -who'd been hit on the head by a flying rock- on his back and hugging a wide-eyed Eri tightly to his chest. A wave of relief washed over him as Mirio ran over to help the injured pair.

Izuku had just made it to the back door when from one of the bushes a certain blondie leaped out.

"Izukuuuuu! I've been looking everywhere! Come on, let's dance!" Toga whipped out a pair of knives and leaped at him. Her eyes were alight with manic excitement, and Izuku was sure he did _not_ want to know whatever this girl's rendition of a foxtrot was. For a split second, he considered jumping up to deliver her a kick as his Full Cowling sparked to life around him in the form of jade electricity. Then he remembered Mei would probably be thrown right off his back and into the wall, which was quite far from ideal.

He ducked and darted to the side instead, Toga hot on his tail as he began to run down the back path towards the other side of the dorm building. As he did, he spotted the flash of a fiery laser beam from the entryway.

"Yuga! Help!" Izuku yelped as he just barely avoided Toga's blade. He ducked to the side as Yuga fired his laser beam, striking the girl's shoulder and collarbone.

"Ooh, that hurts!" Toga giggled, jumping back. The patch of her clothes in the strike zone had been seared off, revealing a bubbling, bright red burn on her skin. Her eyes flashed with laughter, betraying no pain. "I guess I'll have to get a taste of you to- _mmph!"_

She was cut off by a strip of thick silver ribbon wrapping around her face, snaking around her body as she hacked at it determinedly with her knives. Izuku whipped around to see Aizawa behind them, restraining Toga with his capture weapon, his crimson eyes blazing behind dull yellow goggles.

"You kids, get to the main building, fast as you can! I've already ordered Toogata to take the injured there. The other teachers should be able to help. Get reinforcements if you can. Go!" He added quickly as Toga slashed through the band around her mouth. As soon as her mouth was free, she gleefully called, "Izuku, I'm coming!"

Izuku and Yuga -who was now carrying Mei much more securely in his arms- raced towards the main building, down a path surrounded by ruin. Casting a glance behind them, Izuku was graced by the terrible scene of fighting and destruction throughout the many dorm buildings that housed the population of the school.

Every building was surrounded by several flying Nomu, as well as clusters of villains baring fangs at the students, all of whom fought back with determined vigor. He suddenly spotted Denki rush out the front door of the 1-A dorm building, carrying an unconscious Kyouka. The Hearing Hero's ears were bloodied, having evidently been attacked by a villain bearing a sound-related Quirk. "Izuku, Yuga!" His golden eyes were wide with terror. "Look up, at the main building!"

Looking up towards the main school building, Izuku now saw, through hazy eyes, what Denki was referring to. At the top of the two tall pillars, there were massive, black portals that spewed out countless Nomu and other villains of all sorts.

"Kurogiri," Izuku murmured, noting the quirk. He saw the shadowy man himself moments later, standing upon the left tower. On the right tower was Shigaraki, with a Nomu crouching next to him like a guard dog. And on the platform in the middle, between the two towers...

"All for One."

The mastermind, the murderer, the leader of the League himself was watching over the destruction of the students. There were several figures around him, but Izuku couldn't bother to see who they were in the moment being. The presence of this man alone even made his Full Cowling fade out of distraction.

In their paralyzed state, the cluster of students didn't notice the shifting of the shadows behind them.

The next sequence of events was all a flash to Izuku.

A cry jolted him out of his stupor. He whirled around and his blood grew cold.

A band of Aizawa's capture weapon had lashed out and lassoed around Denki's neck, tightening and dragging him to the ground, next to Kyouka's crumpled form. He writhed, gasping for breath against its hold. His fingers pried uselessly at the weapon.

_"Sensei?!_ Sensei, what are you doing?!" Izuku shrieked in horror, snapping around towards the origin point of the coil. He was met by Toga barreling into him, her deadly little hands wrapped around blood-splattered coils of the gray capture weapon. She had evidently tied one end of the ribbon into a sloppy lasso, with which she had snagged Denki.

"Toga!" Izuku yelped. He was on his back, the girl hovering above him. Eri tilted her head to gaze fearfully up at the insane blonde.

"Izuku! I'm so glad I found yooouuuuu!" Toga squealed in excitement. "I wanna see you all bloody and battered! I wanna see you bleed!" Her voice was dripping with arousal; her violence was only driven further by her lust, it seemed.

"Get away!" Izuku screamed and jumped up, Full Cowling activated. He held Eri tightly to his chest. "You won't hurt me. You won't hurt any of us!"

"Oh, Himiko Toga, what are we to ever do with you?" There was a thump and a grunt, and Izuku turned to see Yuga and Mei disappear in a flash of light. Denki and Kyouka's unconscious bodies followed to also vanish, leaving the loop of capture weapon lying loosely on the ground. When the initial glow dissipated, all that was left were mere blue beads.

_Blue beads..._

"Ooh, Compress! You came just in time! Watch me, watch me!" Toga giggled in excitement before surging towards Izuku again.

Izuku whirled around and began to bolt with Eri, charging past Mr. Compress, who was gathering his new beads and evidently ignoring Toga.

The masked magician leaped into the air and landed on top of Izuku, his real hand resting on Eri's trembling head for a split second and turning her into a little sky-blue marble before Izuku could react. He snatched it up just as quickly and bounded back.

"No!" Izuku whipped around, soaring after Mr. Compress. He kicked at the man's side, but the magician darted just an inch out of reach. He next reached for the pocket he'd seen him place the marbles in, but the man darted to the side, causing him to miss yet again. At the next grab, Compress grabbed his hand, compressing his own body into yet another tiny, teal orb.

The last thing Izuku could remember were the claws of despair, snatching him up to drag him into its blackened abyss, before it all went dark.


	2. Prologue : Yuuei Turned Rogue - Part 2

Kyouka awoke from a deep, dark slumber. As she roused, blinking away the remnants of her sleep, she found herself seated in a dim room. Her head and arms had been resting on the smooth, cold, wooden table before her.

"Hmm?" She mumbled. "Where am I?"

As her mismatched crimson and violet eyes adjusted to the low light, she realized she was in what appeared to be a conference room. The U-shaped table was surrounded by chairs. Blinking away the last of her drowsiness, she was overcome by a wave of confusion. How did I get here?

Then she remembered.

The attack, watching her friends being taken down around her, being shot and falling unconscious... Now, as she looked around, she realized that she was not alone.

"Yaomomo?" Kyouka looked to her right. "And Denki..." She looked towards her left to see the electric boy.

Around the table, she identified Yuga, Mezou, Ochako, and Mei. They all seemed to be asleep. As she continued glancing about, she realized something odd. In the corner of the room was a surveillance camera, staring down at her with a round, dark lens. _I've never seen any cameras like that around the school before..._ Unnerved by its watchful gaze, Kyouka decided to step outside.

She got up, trying not to let her chair creak too loudly, and walked over to the door. It opened without trouble. Outside in the hall, however, things didn't look any better. The windows had been covered with massive metal plates. Huge, iron screws bolted them to the wall, preventing any sunlight from streaming in. Their only indication of time was to trust the clocks on the walls.

Kyouka trotted over to the nearest one and leaned on one of the bolts, putting her entire body weight on it in an attempt to move it. The hunk of rough metal didn't even budge a millimeter. Huffing, she stepped back, scrutinizing the plate. "Maybe I can wake up Yaomomo, and she could create something and get us out... Mezou's strong too. And Yuga's laser..."

Kyouka re-entered the room, glancing up at the sign next to the doorframe as she walked by. It read, "Conference Room A".

The tomboy approached the Creation girl. "Yaomomo? _Yaomomo?"_ She gently shook her friend's shoulder.

Yaomomo groaned and blinked open her stormy gray eyes. "Wh- Kyouka?" She lifted her head off of the table. "Where are we?"

"A conference room in U.A., I think. The windows are bolted shut." She gestured outside through the open door. "Could you help me with the bolts?"

"Of course." Yaomomo got up and stepped out to take a look. Meanwhile, Kyouka awoke the others in a similar fashion.

Once the group was gathered outside, Yaomomo rolled up her sleeve, then closed her eyes. Two awkward heartbeats later, during which everybody stared blankly at her, she reopened her eyes and blinked down at her arm, confused.

"Strange. I can't use my quirk. What about you, Kyouka?"

"Um..." Kyouka willed her earphone jacks to extend and hit the ground. They didn't respond to her wishes, staying limp and draping on her shoulders. "I can't... Maybe it's something from that bullet I'd been shot with. It gave me this tingly feeling."

"Yeah, were those real bullets?" Ochako asked, worry tugging at her voice. "They did feel weird... even stranger is that all of my wounds have been healed. There's not a trace of any of them."

"We better find our classmates first, though. They've got to be around here somewhere," Mezou suggested.

Together, Kyouka, Yaomomo, Denki, and their friends began wandering about. They quickly found out that they were on the fourth floor of the U.A. main building. Venturing to the teachers' lounge and Recovery Girl's office, they found Rikidou, Fumikage, Tsuyu, and Shouto and Katsuki. Kyouka had discovered the latter pair arguing in the lounge.

Going downstairs, the cafeteria was abandoned. Denki discovered a second kitchen separate from Lunch Rush's main cook-space at the borders of the cafeteria, just across the hall from it. The door had been previously labeled 'Staff Only' and was locked during school hours. Now, it was open to all.

Upon further examination, the group found out it was just another high-end kitchen of sorts, while also acting as a food storage area for some massive bags of flour, rice, and other cooking ingredients. They found not a single soul, though- no villains, no staff, not even any fellow students. The shiny new surveillance cameras on the ceiling watched their every step with buzzing lenses.

Venturing further down to the ground level -or floor zero-, the group found Nejire, Mirio, and Tamaki passed out in a pile in the Principal's Office. Once awakened, they joined their search party. All of their wounds had been healed, too, much to Kyouka's suspicion.

Other than the students, the entirety of U.A. was abandoned. Only the hall and classroom lights were on, too, leaving the rest of the rooms dim until Denki managed to jumpstart the electricity by by locating the switch in the Main Office and pulling it. The stairway leading to the other building was blocked by a gate that not even Rikidou, Mezou, and Mirio could open, and the front door had transformed into a massive, intricate-looking iron barricade that was also unopenable.

Moving back up to floor two, Mezou discovered Eijirou and Tenya in the trophy room bordering the indoor gym. The trophies, ribbons, and medals were all still intact in the glass case, and the U.A. pride banners still hung from the ceiling. On the second floor, Kyouka found Tooru and Hitoshi wandering the halls, trying to remove the bolts on the windows. When they ran into each other, Kyouka couldn't help but yelp aloud in shock.

"T-Tooru!" She stammered. "You're... visible!"

The previously invisible girl had lost her transparency. Her tan skin, red eyes, and shoulder-length black hair were completely foreign to Kyouka's eyes. The only way she recognized her was from her voice.

"Yeah, I dunno what happened," Tooru mumbled, embarrassed, scratching the back of her head. "I just woke up like this. I mean, at least I was clothed back there at the dorms."

After a bit of fuss over Tooru's visible form, the group managed to recollect and continue their exploration.

Upon further examination, they discovered that the classrooms on floors five and six had been altered. As they entered their former homeroom, they were met by a small, triangular space with two locked doors leading further into the space. One had the nametag _'Bakugou, Katsuki'_ on it, while the other read _'Kirishima, Eijirou'_. Eijirou stated he had no idea what it meant.

On the fifth floor, Izuku and Kouji were found in the hallway, trying to break down the windows. A couple doors over, Mashirao, Hanta, and Mina were examining a surveillance camera they had broken off the ceiling.

Once all 24 students were together, standing in a confused huddle before the stairway to floor six, they began sharing their discoveries and looking to each other for comfort. The mysteriously healed wounds of some of the students didn't help with the atmosphere, either. Unfortunately, they were quickly interrupted by the a loud screeching noise from a nearby speaker. Taken by surprise, half the class screamed in a mixture of surprise and terror.

As the speaker crackled to life, an all-too familiar voice echoed from its passages.

"Mmh, testing? Ah, you can hear me, I can tell. Let me make a few announcements." Shigaraki's voice was being broadcasted over the PA system. Nobody dared to move or make a sound. Kyouka herself stared up at the speaker, her heart thumping in her throat. _Why..? How..?!_

"Now, let me make this clear: we will not harm you physically unless _you_ initiate violence. We have brought you all here to live together in the safe-place that is U.A. High. We've even cleared out this area of the building for you. So, uh, welcome to your new home, I guess. You'll be here until you die, so get comfortable."

A beat of stunned silence.

"Go down to the Principal's office. There's a box on the desk with your new dorm keys in it. Get the key with your name on it and go to the room on the tag. Wash up, the lot of you, and change. We've provided outfits for the occasion as well; how some appreciation and put them on, then go to the auditorium on floor one. Quickly, now."

Just as abruptly as it had begun, Shigaraki's drawling voice crackled to silence.

A moment later, all hell broke loose.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Mina screeched, hands on her head with a death-grip on her horns. "AND WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE ELSE HERE?"

"Yes, what has happened to this place?" Yaomomo asked softly, amidst the voices increasing in volume around her. "First we wake up at U.A. without our quirks, then there's the classrooms, and now Shigaraki is operating the speakers..."

"Hurry up," Shigaraki drawled from the speakers above once more. Everybody froze and quickly rushed down the stairs. They re-entered the Principal's office as instructed. Kyouka's eyes immediately landed on the large box on the desk. _Strange,_ she thought. _That wasn't there when we found the Big Three in here earlier._

Regardless, she silently walked along with the others to the desk. Since she was at the front of the group, she made it her duty to hand some of the others' keys to them when she grabbed them in search of her own. They were all on aluminum rings, a variety of colorful, acrylic tags and metallic keys sifted through by her fingers. After a minute, she found her own at the bottom of the box. _'Jirou, Kyouka'_ was on the front of the plastic tag. On the back of it, _'Ultimate Musician'_ was emblazoned in silver lettering. Whatever that meant.

The key itself was a silver color, speckled with dark purple flecks. _'1-K'_ was engraved on it. She would've thought it were cool, had it not been provided by the Villain League. "Come on, guys," Izuku said, snapping Kyouka's attention away from her key. "We should probably head to our rooms. It's not like we can fight these guys without our quirks, anyway."

Everybody separated in a hush, traveling up the stairs in small clusters towards their new dorms.

_There's got to be more to this,_ Kyouka thought fearfully as she approached 1-K. _I wonder what the villains' plan is._

***

Mirio strode up the stairs, flanked by Tamaki and Nejire.

"Do you have any idea what's happening?" Nejire suddenly asked, her voice hushed.

"No," Mirio replied softly as they reached the landing. "But whatever it is, I'm sure we'll all get through it!" He instinctively attempted to grasp a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel. At his immediate right was Classroom 1-B. 1-G and 1-H were just down the next hall. Out of reflex, his eyes flickered towards the two at his side.

Looking down at Nejire, Mirio saw the uneasiness in her crystal-blue eyes. The sight of such negativity displayed by _her,_ the brightest member of the Big Three, was enough to cast a haze of gloom over everyone in the surrounding vicinity. He wished she'd smile again. Nejire didn't wear the upset look well.

Tamaki, on the other hand, looked terrified. He was pressing rather close to Mirio's side, his eyes fixed to his feet. Concern washed over Mirio as he observed the boy's hunched stance. The blonde took his hand, causing Tamaki to jump before gratefully lacing their fingers together. _He's trembling._

Going down the hall, Nejire entered 1-H, joining Mei, leaving Mirio with Tamaki. The two made their way into 1-G, entering the triangular common area. Mirio let go of Tamaki's hand and tried his metallic-gold key in the keyhole. The door clicked open with ease.

"Meet you here later?" Mirio asked his partner. The ravenette nodded before slowly slipping into his own room. The blonde watched Tamaki's door click shut before entering his new dorm. He shut the door and looked around, taking in his surroundings.

The rectangular room had light blue flooring and white walls, just like the classroom had been before. There were scuff marks on the floor, so the villains most likely just took out all the desks and removed the podium and chalkboard. _How_ they did that was another question, albeit one Mirio was uninterested in.

At the base of the new wall separating Mirio and Tamaki's rooms was a bumpy row of hard cement. _Cementoss' quirk,_ he realized as he brushed his fingers along the ridges. _But how..?_

_No. No way._ Mirio swiftly got up. _No way would the villains manage to do that._

_Well, All for One did beat All Might, the BEST hero,_ a nasty voice at the back of Mirio's head noted. _Who's to say the lower ranks wouldn't follow suit?_

Shaking off his unease, Mirio busied himself by continuing to look around. One corner of the otherwise perfect rectangular room was cut off by another segment of wall. _Probably just a construction thing, with the three separate areas and all._ There was a bed, too. The sheets were crisp and finely made, and the head of the bed was up against the wall. A set of clothing, consisting of a suit, bow, tie, pants, and dress shoes, was laying on top of it. Behind the bed, the windows had metal plates and large screws on them, just like in the hallway. On the ceiling, a security camera and monitor hung, gazing over the room.

Next to the bed was a desk and cabinet. There was a set of stationary on the table, along with a note. Mirio picked it up to read it over.

_Welcome to your new dorm. They're all monitored by cameras, but we won't intrude on your privacy too much. In one cabinet, you will find a toolkit. A solid blow to the head should do the job, but you could certainly be more creative. Your outfit is on the bed. One spare set is folded up in one of the cabinets. If you mess both up, that's your problem. Casual sleepwear is also provided. You can wash your clothes in the laundry room, which you can surely find later. Enjoy your stay._

_-Overhaul_

Confused, but sickened at the fact the letter was handwritten by Chisaki, Mirio crumpled up the paper and threw it in the waste bin next to the cabinet.

He proceeded to walk over to the other end of the room, where there was another wall and a door. When he opened it, it revealed a bathroom. _I suppose I should take a shower,_ Mirio thought. _I'm certainly not going to be the one testing out what happens if you don't do as they said, especially since there's cameras..._

Mirio took off his dirty clothes. He quickly realized that his former wound -a gash made by a knife- was gone. The skin on his arm was now undamaged. Unnerved, he opted to not ponder over it and quickly got to showering instead. Afterwards, Mirio decided to put on his new... school outfit? Uniform? Whatever the villains wanted to call this ridiculous thing.

It was a gothic-style black and white suit set, with a white dress shirt underneath. White lace bordered the dark cuffs, and there were twin white stripes on the flaps. The dress pants had two white lace patterns on them as well. The black and white outfit was adorned with a dash of color, in the form of a pair of dark maroon dress shoes and a red tie, along with a silver bowtie.

He turned to a mirror standing against the wall with the dorm entrance door to examine his look. _I don't look too bad, I suppose... the white lace is a bit odd, though. At least there was hair gel in the bathroom._

Mirio quickly exited the room, only for his eyes to land on a familiar mop of black hair as he shut the door. "Tamaki!" he exclaimed. "You were quick!"

The boy in question merely looked down at his feet, his arms crossed over his chest and his fingers fiddling with his tie. He wore a simple black suit and dark blue tie with a white dress shirt underneath, along with dark gray dress pants and black shoes. _I'd say he looks nice, if only his expression were a little less troubled._

Mirio inclined his head and reached out one hand to softly rest it on Tamaki's back, gathering him in. The ravenette limply allowed him to hug him and let his head fall forward, his nose pressed into Mirio's shoulder. 

Mirio could feel his warm breath through the cloth. "Are you okay?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Mmh, yeah," Tamaki muttered into Mirio's neck, his body relaxing, but still stiff. "Just... scared."

The latter took Tamaki's arms in his hands and gently pushed him back so they were now gazing into each other's eyes- Mirio's concerned and gentle, Tamaki's anxious and dull.

"I'm always here if you need m-"

"No, it's fine." Tamaki didn't elaborate; Mirio didn't push.

The blonde sighed and brushed Tamaki's side-lock of darker navy hair out of his eyes. "Alright then. Everything's going to be okay, okay?" Tamaki tilted his head, and Mirio smiled. "Let's go down to the aud."

The two re-entered the hall, meeting up with Nejire and Mei, who had also changed into their own outfits. The group went downstairs to the second floor, with Tamaki huddling between Mirio and Nejire. They met up with the others outside, before all entering the auditorium in a crowd.

Upon entering the auditorium, they instantly noticed how the entire place looked different. The chairs had been removed, instead providing a space that resembled a halved Colosseum. A massive half-ring of stairs curled inwards towards the stage, on which was the podium and drawn-back red curtains.

Then Mirio's eyes landed on who was actually _on_ the stage.

"Ah. They're here."


	3. Prologue : Yuuei Turned Rogue - Part 3

Yaomomo's eyes widened as she entered the auditorium.

"Shigaraki! Kurogiri!" Her stormy gray gaze flickered from villain to villain. There weren't that many; just Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Dabi, Toga, and Chisaki. But their presence, alone with the powerless students in an abandoned U.A., held a frightening kind of aura just by itself.

"You came." Shigaraki muttered, idly scratching his dry-ass neck. "I was beginning to wonder."

"Please explain what is happening!" Tenya yelled, his arms waving like a robot's.

Shigaraki sneered. "You're so impatient. Let us explain.

"We have brought you all here to play a little... game. As you all know from the announcements earlier, you're all to live here. And of course, you unappreciative brats probably all want to leave. So, we've made a little system. To leave, you have to graduate. And to graduate-"

"You have to kill someone!" Toga suddenly interrupted.

A stunned silence fell over the students as the villains waited for a response.

"Wh-what do you mean?!" Izuku yelped, his voice slicing through the quiet like a knife. _"Kill someone?"_

"Yes! Kill someone!" Toga sung. "Stab 'em, burn 'em, mutilate 'em! The gorier the better!" She danced around Dabi excitedly, who watched her with lazy blue eyes.

"And there you have it," Shigaraki groaned, waving a hand at Toga in what might've been a threatening gesture. The blonde didn't seem to care as she re-took her place beside Dabi. "Kill someone to graduate. Oh, and because we can't bother watching you idiots all day, and have better things to do than give lengthy explanations of this thing, we made a new toy for you. It's for the occasion. Kurogiri?"

The warp-gate man silently opened a portal, and out tumbled a short, white rodent.

"Principal Nedzu!" Yaomomo called out, a wave of relief washing over her. The principal was here! Maybe he could tell them what was happening.

But as he got up, all the joy in Yaomomo's heart froze, giving way to terror.

The left half of Nedzu's face was black-furred, the dark pelt sewn onto his head, as evident by the blood-speckled stitches. In place of his eye on the black side, there was a red, mechanical lens that flickered and glowed. The left side of his mouth was bent into an awkward smirk.

What scared Yaomomo the most was his right side, though. The right corner of his lips were curled down in a trembling frown, and his beady black eye was shiny with agony. His entire body seemed to be trembling, yet at the same time stiff; perfectly artificial.

"I am Monokuma!" Nedzu yelled. His voice was shrill, robotic, ragged. It was like a bad audio recording overlaid on top of static and glitches. It was as if Nedzu himself was trying to fight the robotic parasite leeched onto him, but failing and being swallowed by its dominant call. A frozen chill ran down Yaomomo's spine.

"Monokuma here will be watching you from the control room. He can also answer questions, talk to you, and enforce rules, that kinda thing. We'll also have one or two members on standby at all times as well, in case something happens," Shigaraki continued.

"Have fun," Dabi sneered. He jumped into the new portal as soon as Kurogiri opened it, waving his hand as he disappeared.

One by one, the villains all filed into the portal, Kurogiri leaving last and closing the portal behind him. This left the group of students staring, terrified, at Monokuma, who was now standing alone atop the podium.

Yaomomo still hadn't completely grasped the whole Killing Game concept. _Kill_ each other? Who would be insane enough to do that? They were all friends. They were _Class 1-A._ They'd been through so much together. Besides, even if they weren't friends, nobody would have the heart to physically murder another human being.

And why? If the League wanted them dead, they could do the job themselves. As much as she hated it, Yaomomo knew that none of the 24 students would be able to defeat a single one of the villains in their current state.

_So... why?_

"Now, time for some housekeeping!" Monokuma continued brightly. "As Shigaraki said before, you will all be living your School Life of Mutual Killing here! Either you can all live under the League's rules, or you can be naughty and try to graduate! They even provided some basic weapons for you in your rooms, knowing you wannabe-heroes. Is that clear?"

"Um, N- Monokuma?" Yaomomo suddenly blurted out. A couple pairs of eyes flickered towards her in surprise, but she kept her gaze steady on the black and white creature.

"Yes, Yaoyorozu, Miss Ultimate Heir?" Monokuma asked, rocking back and forth on the podium. "What seems to be the matter?"

"Yes, about the Ultimate titles... what are they?"

"Oh!" Monokuma jumped up, ears pricked. "Well, we picked out your most memorable attribute and titled you it. I guess you could say, your personal 'ultimate' talent, aside from playing hero. It'll come in handy later, I'm sure!

"Good question! You get a gold star." Monokuma smiled, as if mocking her. "Any more?"

The room was dead silent, spare for the droning of the fan.

"In that case, it's time for the most important part of this whole thing-a-ma-jig! A little something for all of you, to get ya goin!" Monokuma ducked down behind the podium, before swiftly reappearing with a cardboard box. 

"DVDs! Come and get the one with your name on it, and go up to the teacher's office to watch 'em on the computers!" He tossed the box at the students, and Yaomomo, who was near the front of the group, caught it.

Everyone grabbed their DVD. After a fair bit of yelling and Katsuki grabbing the box to chuck at Monokuma -who easily dodged before retorting with something about hurting the principal- they made their way up the stairs to the teachers' office. The glowing lights of the monitors were the only light sources in the room. Everyone sat down at a computer and slid the DVD into the media slot before putting on the provided earbuds.

Yaomomo clicked the play button, and the screen darkened. For a moment, nothing happened. And then...

A sunny image appeared on-screen. An image of her family, crowding around her and smiling. There was her younger sister, her mother and father, even Cynthia, her best friend, the maid she had grown fond of back at the mansion. Their bright faces lit a spark of hope in her heart. _We were happy._

But then, the screen flashed to black once more, and a familiar, shrill voice rattled Yaomomo's eardrums.

"The Yaoyorozus: a rich, high-end, happy family. Their business was great, life comfortable, and wishes fulfilled. But then, something horrible happened!"

The screen flickered back to life. Yaomomo gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.

There was her family. Hanging by their wrists against a wall, the four people were helpless, at the mercy of their captors. Yaomomo's sister's silver eyes shone with fear, a cut on her cheek caked with dry blood. Her gaze was fixed on the camera, piercing Yaomomo's with her own through the screen. Her mother's stare was directed at the ground, dull and submissive. There were scuff marks on on her face.

Her father appeared to be asleep or unconscious, from the light movement of his chest despite his closed eyes. His glasses were askew and dirtied. The maid, Cynthia, stared forlornly at the camera, her blue eyes hazy and dull. Yaomomo found herself trapped in her glossy gaze.

"The villains attacked, and this family was captured! What will their fates be?!" Monokuma's robotic voice blared into Yaomomo's ears once more. She barely heard him, her mind addled with fear for her family. _I'm a hero! I'm supposed to protect people! And yet, somehow... my family..._

The screen flickered to darkness once more. A message in bold red letters appeared.

_'Find out the answer after Graduation!'_

A light piano tune was playing in the background, completely unfitting of the images shown before it. Yaomomo tore off the earbuds, throwing them at the keyboard before her.

Around her, the others' reactions to their videos were becoming evident.

"AAAHHHH!" Izuku screamed, his fingers tugging at his curly green locks. "Wh- why?!"

"How..." Hitoshi stared, wide-eyed, at the screen. "How could they be..?"

"Wh-what's happening?!" Mina yelped, her gaze flitting fearfully from side to side. "Never before..!"

Amidst all the chaotic screams, Yaomomo's darting gaze landed on a couple people. Namely, Ochako and Fumikage.

Ochako's wide, chocolate eyes held a haunted, vacant kind of look. Her entire body seemed to be trembling as she stared into the screen. Fumikage stared indifferently at his monitor, his crimson eyes lazy and unfocused.

"Puhuhu!" Yaomomo jumped, whirling around to see Monokuma had re-appeared in the far corner of the room.

"AAAHH!" Nejire screeched. The Big Three member had obviously been unnerved by the video, judging by her jumpiness. "Where'd you come from?! How'd you get in?! The door's over there!" She jabbed a shaky finger at the closed door, which was on the other side of the room.

Monokuma waved his paws in an arc. "Maaagic!" He chuckled. "Anyways, there you have it! These discs are one-hundred percent authentic, for your information." He cheerfully began trotting around, walking by the students and ignoring their stunned expressions.

"Wh- how?!" Mei's usual merry expression had turned to one of terror. She glanced around the room. "H-heroes will be coming soon, I'm sure! The prisoners will be saved! _We'll_ be saved!"

"Puhuhu!" There it was again, that creepy, little laugh. Monokuma stared up at Mei. "You're seriously going to rely on the _heroes?!_ Wouldn't that mean you should be relying on yourself and your own wits to escape? Now how about that graduation rule, hmm?"

"A-are you serious?! We're _Class One-A!_ We would never kill _anyone,_ let alone our own friends!" Despite Izuku's claim, his eyes were wide, his gaze flitting from side to side, as if afraid of a sudden attack at any moment. Yaomomo felt dread fill her up from the inside, and an unnerving thought rose in her mind.

_Would we? Would one of us really kill another for freedom, and the determination of our family's fates?_

"Are you so sure about that? Do you know what everyone else's situations are?" Monokuma's red eye gleamed with malice, while his black one was still eternally pained. "You cannot judge others based on your own standards! How do you know... that none of the students here in this classroom are already planning a murder?"

A dark hush washed over the students. After a moment, everybody began to look at each other with suspicious glares. Yaomomo felt her heart sink. _No... surely nobody is..._

_...planning to kill one of us?_

***

Tenya felt a rush of rage race through him at Monokuma's words. _How dare he..?_

"Provoking us with those poisonous words? Convincing us that we're going to kill each other? Are you insane?!" Tenya jumped to his feet and yelled at Monokuma, waving his hand at the little rodent.

He looked around, red and blue eyes flickering from person to person. Everyone's suspicious mutterings had faltered, their attention now completely on him.

"We would never!" He boldly announced. He turned back to Monokuma. "You and the League of Villains, holding our teachers, families, and loved ones captive to try and convince us to succumb to your plans! We won't fall! _You will!"_

In an impulsive, adrenaline-driven moment, Tenya rushed forward at Monokuma, who was standing in the middle of an aisle between the computers, at the very center of the group.

He never regretted his choice.

Tenya lunged at Monokuma, and a moment later, the rodent was laying on the ground. Tenya's foot was planted on top of his chest, effectively pinning him.

"Villains, listen up!" Tenya glared directly into the surveillance camera next to the TV screen on the ceiling, which stared right back down at him. "Let go of your captives, before we beat you and your... your _Monokuma_ to a pulp!"

Around him, Tenya could hear his friends' surprised gasps. _I won't let the villains hurt them... I am Tenya Iida, class representative of 1-A! I will protect them until my dying breath!_

"I'll protect my friends and family! I refuse to let you hurt them!" Tenya confidently announced to the ears behind the cameras.

That's when the TV screen lit up. There was Shigaraki, sitting cross-legged on a red-leather wheeled chair. One of his red eyes was visible, observing Tenya with cruel amusement.

"Um, intention of injury to the principal is strictly forbidden!" Monokuma suddenly began talking again, waving his little paws, and everyone's eyes returned to him. "Kurogiri! Spinner!"

A multitude of dark portals suddenly appeared around the room in a loose half-dome over Tenya, their entrances all pointed at the direction of the class representative. Katanas and spears flew out of them with a zing, their blades glinting in the artificial light of the computers for a fraction of a second before impaling themselves deep in Tenya's flesh. Several of the spears' tips had even gone through the other side of his body. Blood blossomed from the many wounds, painting his blue suit-jacket magenta in a breath's time.

For a moment, he was so shocked he forgot about the pain.

"Wh..."

He was beginning to go numb, his vision blurring. _Did my glasses fall off?_

He was getting dizzy, as if the world were tilting. _Or am I swaying?_

"Class One-A..."

His limbs were growing unresponsive as blood rapidly flowed from the wounds, although he couldn't even feel the warmth of the liquid against his skin. He forced air into his lungs, despite how each breath felt like a thousand more daggers to his chest. He made a choked coughing sound, blood spurting out his mouth and dripping down his chin.

"Remember... who you wanted to become..."

His breath caught in his chest, and suddenly his body went from frosty numbness to feeling as if he were on fire. The heat and the flames licked his skin, sending prickles of needles and burns throughout his limbs as another wave of blood gushed from the impalement points, the blades holding steady in his body. 

His eyes were growing heavy. He was sleepy. _So tired..._

The spears and katanas jerked as he swayed and fell, sending a fresh spout of blood bursting from the wounds. His vision went dark, and he let the vestiges of sleep take him one final time.

***

Tenya Iida was dead.

In one explosion of blades, he was gone.

_Tenya Iida. Our class representative._

Everyone could only stare at the body on the ground, spears and katanas impaled all over his body. And the blood, _the blood. There was so much blood._

Thick, dark pink fluid dripped from the wounds, trickling in a steady river onto the floor, flowing into the seams between tiles, entirely soaking through Tenya's blue suit and blotting it a permanent indigo. The growing puddle of gore rippled around the corpse with every new drop. 

Despite the magenta mess before him, Monokuma stared down at his corpse, brushing himself off. He'd evidently slipped out from under Tenya's foot at one point or another, as he was unscathed and clean. "Well, that's that."

"THAT'S THAT?!" Ochako suddenly screamed. About a dozen other students jumped at the brunette's sudden outburst. "WHAT DO YOU M-MEAN?!"

Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears. Her face was painted with terror and rage. Her hands were clenched in fists, and the small bow in her hair seemed to droop, mirroring her expression.

"You just killed him!!" the brunette screeched, her face red with pent-up emotion. "And all you can say is- is _THAT'S THAT?!"_

Monokuma shrugged. "He's dead now, isn't he? This is real life, not some hero manga!"

Ochako opened her mouth to say something when Tsuyu tapped her on the shoulder. Meanwhile, Eijirou was trembling, huddled between Mina and Katsuki. His usual courageous spirit had been shattered. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

A strange pause, filled by the mechanical beeping of the room's gadgets.

"Oh, that's simple," Monokuma suddenly said. He grinned. 

"Despair. That's all."

Anothere beat of silence. Then...

"Despair?" Denki asked softly.

"Yes, despair!" Monokuma laughed, the noise robotic, mechanical, unnatural. "That's all we want from you! Now, before I accidentally say too much, it's time for me to leave! _Sayonara!_ Puhuhu..."

Monokuma waddled out the door. Nobody tried to stop him. Nearly everyone's eyes were locked on Tenya's broken body.

Above, the TV screen had long flickered to darkness.

_So this is it._

_What despair. What agony, what pain... it's so evident in their faces, their eyes, their posture, their voices._

_Welcome to the Killing Game, they told us._

_Welcome to your new life, we were told. _

_>Prologue : The End | Surviving Students : 23 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item obtained: Bloody Pair of Glasses<_


	4. Chapter 1 : To Survive; Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero - Part 1 - Daily Life

Mashirao could only stare in stunned horror.

Tenya's crumpled, stiff body continued to run a river of pink on the floor, the spears and blades still sunk in his bleeding flesh. Nobody dared move, nor make a sound. It was still all too surreal for most of the students to even register.

Silence. The whirling technology was the only source of noise in the room.

Then she spoke.

"He's... he's really dead, isn't he?" Yaomomo's voice trembled, and when Mashirao turned to meet her eyes, they were watery orbs of gray, the tears threatening to spill and trigger a waterfall.

They were filled with despair.

_Despair._

_It's what the villains want._

Mashirao felt a stab of sorrow pierce his heart. _It's the opposite of what Tenya would've wanted._

Fumikage suddenly stepped forward. He slowly crouched down, avoiding the pooling blood, and placed two gloved fingers on Tenya's blood-splashed wrist, followed by his neck.

"He's dead. He's truly dead."

Fumikage's voice was, for the most part, steady. Mashirao felt his throat constrict, and a tear ran down his cheek.

_Tenya..._

_The best we can do now is honor him and his wishes... to not forget him._

"G-guys... " Mashirao decided to speak up. His voice cracked, and he swallowed down the knot in his throat. He wiped a tear off of his face. "To fight, to be heroes... That's what Tenya wanted. We should honor that. We can't just give in to the villains and despair!"

For a moment, everyone just stared at him, their eyes wide pools of monotone colors. When his words registered to them, Mashirao watched with relief as the thick cloud of despair that had been hanging over the groups' heads dissipated.

"You're right, Mashirao," Yaomomo murmured. "That is what he would've liked."

"Shall we get to work, then?" Fumikage asked from his spot hovering over Tenya.

"But- but it's not like we can just leave him here, right?" Izuku spluttered.

"We'll be taking care of that," Shigaraki suddenly spoke up over the overhead speakers.

"Leave him to the mercy of the villains?!" Ochako suddenly cried. Mashirao turned to face her. Tears were streaming down her face, and her entire body was trembling. "How could we do that?"

"I'm afraid it's the only choice," Mashirao murmured. He didn't want to leave Tenya here, leaving the villains to do as they pleased with him, but it wasn't as if they could do a burial, being trapped inside of U.A.. Cremation could be possible, but it could get sloppy, since Mashirao was pretty sure nobody here was the Ultimate Cremationist. Nobody wanted anything less than perfect for their deceased friend, either.

"I'll stand guard," Katsuki suddenly volunteered. For once in his life, Mashirao saw a glimmer of fear in his eyes, underneath a crimson mask of confidence. "If the villains try anything fishy, I'll rip their heads off their shoulders!"

He tried to sound angry, but his voice shuddered, betraying that even the boldest, most ignorant and headstrong member of the class had been deterred. That was what scared Mashirao the most; that the villains were winning, playing them like puppets.

He couldn't let that happen.

"I'll stay with him," Eijirou volunteered. He seemed shaken as well. "You guys try to find an escape. Surely we overlooked something during the previous look-around. Anything interesting, take note of it. We can meet up at the cafeteria at twelve."

With everything going on, Mashirao forgot completely about the time. Looking up at the clock on the wall, it read 9:16.

"That's a plan," Yaomomo replied softly. "Come on, guys. Let's split up into groups and investigate."

Within a couple minutes, Mashirao, Yaomomo, and Tsuyu managed to organize a rough bunch of groups. Mashirao was with Tooru, Mezou, Kouji, and Rikidou. Yaomomo had suggested they check out the base floor, specifically the front door and windows with Hitoshi's group. After a couple of last words, everyone headed off.

Mashirao headed down the stairs, flanked by Tooru and Kouji. Tooru's steps were light and jumpy, expressing her nervousness, while Kouji darted alongside Mashirao, as if he were his shadow and saw him as a comfort source.

If that's what Mashirao could do for his classmates, then he would do it.

"Hey..." Tooru suddenly said in a small voice. "Mashirao?"

"Mmh?"

"I was wondering... what did the villains show you on the DVD?" Tooru's wide, magenta eyes gazed into Mashirao's, and in that moment, she seemed so vulnerable, seeking for any small source of distraction, that he just wanted to hold her and promise her she'd be safe.

"My family," Mashirao murmured. "My Ma and Pa... and my cat, too. Her name's Yuki." A flash of ice jolted down his spine as he remembered the scene of his parents in chains, and his beloved Scottish Fold cat huddled in a cage, her muscles tense and golden-brown eyes wide with fear. "She's almost like a daughter to me, if that makes any sense."

Tooru nodded, her expression warm once more. "It must be nice, to have somebody you can count on to not judge you or anything."

"Yeah, it is. What did you see, Tooru?"

"Well... I saw my mother and father, and my two brothers. I think their Quirks were erased, too. I didn't even recognize my father and one of my brothers for a moment." Tooru shuddered. "It's terrifying, isn't it? How we're all just here at the mercy of the League?"

Mashirao stopped at the side of the landing, letting the others flood past him. He placed his hands on Tooru's shoulders. "We'll be alright, okay? I promise you that. We'll all get out of here. Nobody else will die."

Tooru stared, her eyes blank, up at Mashirao for a moment. Then she gave a small sniffle.

"You're such a good friend, Mashirao!" She suddenly surged forward, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest in a tight embrace. Mashirao wasn't sure what to think for a moment, before returning the gesture by draping his arms around Tooru.

They stayed like that for a couple seconds before Tooru awkwardly pulled back. "Uh, sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine," Mashirao chuckled. "Come on, we're being left behind."

As Mashirao and Tooru approached the massive iron doors, rejoining the group, Mei turned to face them. "Ah, our lovebirds are back." Despite the amused words, her sad demeanor drowned them out. Her voice lacked its usual flair, instead being dull with grief, and her eyes were misty, as if she were lost in thought. _I wonder what her inventor's mind is thinking up now._ "Anyways, now that we're all here, let's work on this gate," she continued.

Mashirao inspected the various screws and the gate-frame, while Mezou, Rikidou, and Kouji attempted to yank on the door at every imaginable angle in an attempt to force it open. As Mashirao attempted to twist the screws, he sensed the presence of someone at his shoulder. As he looked up, he found his eyes locked in hazy indigo ones.

"Hitoshi," Mashirao nodded in acknowledgement before returning to his work. It'd been a few months since Hitoshi had apologized for brainwashing him at the Sports Festival, but their interactions had been awkward ever since, considering Mashirao didn't have a reason to provoke him every time they met. At least the hostile air between them had cleared.

"How... are you?" Mashirao asked hesitantly, breaking the tense silence without looking up. "You know, with everything going on..."

"It's... alarming, I could say," Hitoshi slowly replied. He absently ran his finger over a screw next to Mashirao's arm.

The tailed ex-hero turned to look at Hitoshi. The violette was tracing the indentations and bumps in the screws and metal bars, his motions detached and slow. His eyes were clouded, as if he were staring at something on the gate-frame that nobody else could see.

_He looks... well,_ sad _isn't exactly the right word. Distant? Lonely? Fearful?_

_Despairing?_

"Anything else?" Mashirao pressed. Over the past months he had to admit he'd been interested in befriending Hitoshi. The violette was rather _intriguing,_ so to say. He wondered what he was like once his walls were down; most people surprised you once you got past your own perception of them. Now, seeing him look so lost, Mashirao couldn't help but want to learn about it and comfort him in some way.

Hitoshi tilted his head to meet Mashirao's dark chestnut eyes. His gaze was vacant, fixed once more on something he couldn't reach. "Why would you ask?"

"Because-" Mashirao caught himself, unsure of what to say. _You look sad? I'm worried about you? You seem lost?_ None of the direct wordings would've sounded right, and Mashirao wasn't about to cut the small thread of an understanding between them. "Because- well, maybe the right way to put it is: are you really... okay?"

Hitoshi blinked slowly, then let out a sigh. "You overthink too much. I'm fine."

"You sure aren't acting 'fine'," Mashirao retorted before softening. "But I guess I won't press."

The two continued examining the doorframe in silence. After a couple minutes, neither one of them managed to budge a single screw, bolt, or latch, not even the tiniest bit. Mezou's trio didn't get anything done, either.

The two initial large groups rejoined for a brief discussion. Yuga didn't find anything abnormal in the library, while Mei and Tooru only found a large stack of the principal's paperwork and a variety of books in his office. Mei stated that the papers might betray some interesting details they could later use.

Hitoshi let out a small sigh as Mei concluded her overview of the files and everyone reaffirmed that there was no especially important information or possibilities of escape. "I suppose that's it, then. Hopefully the other groups found something."

Mashirao felt a pang of worry sprouting in his chest. _For Hitoshi, of all people, to just give up that easily? The Hitoshi I thought I knew would've stopped at nothing for victory._

_I do wonder what he saw in that video..._

_What could they have shown him that was so despair-inducing?_

_What did they show all of us?_

***

Izuku hauled himself over the counter of one of the cafeteria serving stations, glancing around. The small area was brightly lit by the white lights overhead, and outside, he could hear Ochako's shuffling footsteps and the shutting of the door as Tsuyu exited the room to join Shouto in the kitchen. None of the familiarity of his surroundings gave him an ounce of comfort.

Tenya's death still hung, raw and fresh, in the front of his mind. Every thought of his friend brought tears to his eyes. Every corner he turned, he half-expected to see a villain looming over him, or a barrage of spears, or the corpse of one of his friends limp on the ground, bleeding their life out on the floor. He felt so uptight, so fearful, so in _despair._

Mashirao was right; Tenya would not have wanted his friends to grieve so much they were unable to operate and get out of this slice of hell. But Izuku could barely think without being overcome with emotion and tears. After all, Tsuyu had just barely managed to comfort him enough to stop sobbing on their way down the hall.

And now, alone in a corner of the cafeteria, Izuku curled up in a ball on the floor and let his tears flow silently down his face, falling down onto his black vest, the sleeves of his white dress shirt already splattered from wiping them away earlier.

He already missed Tenya. His friend, his class president, his comrade in battle, yet also his partial rival. He was always looking out for his friends, taking care of them as if they were his family. He could be such a motivation, even if it was in the wrong way.

He was like the heart of the class, the trunk to the branches and leaves and fruit. Tenya was a light, guiding them through troubled waters. He was so strong, his desire to be a hero so bold, so bright.

And he was dead. In one flurry of spears, one flash of blades, he was gone. Forever. Izuku wished he were here, telling everyone it'd be okay, that they should thoroughly explore the building, make a plan, fight back and not despair. To rescue the hostages, get reinforcements, defeat the villains, no matter how long it took.

To give his daily reminder that Izuku must live every day to the fullest, to work hard and save his friends, his class, and to be a hero... Oh, what Izuku wouldn't give to just talk to him one more time before he vanished for good.

Through the messed up jumble of thoughts about Tenya and death and worrying about his other friends, Izuku felt a light _thud_ directly above him. He whirled to his feet, crouching in a defensive position on the floor, ready to leap up and deliver a punch to his attacker's face.

Fortunately, it was only Ochako. Izuku quickly relaxed as his emerald eyes met his friend's mocha ones. "Ochako," he murmured, gazing at the brunette leaning against the countertop.

Izuku's relief was short-lived as he took in Ochako's hollow expression once again. She wore an air of fear, its dark tendrils wrapped around her like an aura. He had never seen her so afraid before. Not at USJ, and not even when she confided in him about her guilt over Nighteye's death. No, her appearance was one of a person who'd just seen the devil, followed by their friend's gruesome death.

Now, Ochako stared sadly at Izuku, her hazy eyes taking in how much of an emotional mess he was. He personally didn't like the sorrowful frown on her face. It didn't suit her. "Deku, are you alright?"

Izuku sniffed. "I'm fine," he stated softly, wiping the tears off his face. "No, I should be asking that question. Are _you_ okay, Ochako?" _Tell me you aren't._

"I'm okay," Ochako murmured. "I'm okay, I'm okay..." Her voice trailed off as she repeated the phrase over and over, as if trying to convince herself that she was.

"You're clearly not," Izuku replied softly. He approached her from behind the counter and rested his scarred hand over hers. "What did they show you?" he asked in a whisper.

"It's not your concern," Ochako retorted, pulling her hand back.

"It'll be better if you confide in someone," Izuku pushed himself onto the counter and dropped down to the other side, so that he stood right next to her. "Did they show you your family?"

Ochako lowered her head so that her hair shadowed her face. She gave the smallest nod as a reply, her hands clenching into fists over her bosom. "My mom and dad... imprisoned, taken captive. I couldn't stand it... I'm a hero, I'm supposed to be selfless and brave and save people. And I couldn't even save my own parents." She gave a weak smile, lifting her face so that Izuku was trapped in her teary, chocolate eyes. "Tell me, Deku, what hero can't even protect their own family?!"

Izuku blinked at her, her words ringing in his ears. He let out a soft breath. "Ochako," he began. "It's not your fault. We all just got taken prisoner, had our quirks removed, and our friend killed in the span of twenty-four hours. We never could've had a chance to save our families. We were at the dorms, then imprisoned in the school by the villains. Nobody could've saved them, okay?"

Ochako nodded, wiping the tears out of one of her eyes with her hand. Izuku took both of her hands in his own. They were softer than his, her fingers intertwining with his calloused ones, the soft pink pads that once contained her quirk's magic brushing his palm. 

"Even the strongest heroes sometimes fail. Don't blame yourself over it." Izuku released her hands and leaned forward to wrap his arms around Ochako's torso, pulling her into a hug. "We'll be okay, alright? Help will come, or we'll find an escape route. Nobody else will die. We'll all be okay." 

And yet, feeling Ochako tremble in his arms, her tears slipping onto his shoulders and neck, he couldn't help but doubt his own words.

_Nobody else will die..._

_...right?_


	5. Chapter 1 : To Survive; Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero - Part 2 - Daily Life

The entire group gathered in the cafeteria. Mashirao and Mezou had shoved some tables together to form a long table that seated all 23 of the students. Once everyone was settled, Yaomomo began going down the rows, requesting any gathered information.

"Personally, my group didn't find much," She herself reported. "The locker rooms are exactly as we'd left them, and the locks are all still intact. No trophies, medals, or banners are missing, and nothing more was added to the shelves. The gym was deserted. The training tools are still in the supply closet. The windows had metal plates over them, and there were surveillance cameras in all the rooms and hallway."

If Mashirao could still move his tail, it would have been tucked between his legs in anxiety.

"We did find the laundry room, though!" Nejire decided to pipe up. "It replaced one of the extra classrooms. It's like the ones in the dorms, plus some bleach, borax, and other oddball laundry supplies." The bright lilt to her voice had begun to return, much to Mashirao's relief. _Tenya would've liked this. Getting back to work on a game plan._ He tried to ignore the twist of sorrow in his stomach.

"That isn't worth shit unless you want to wash your goddamn clothes or something!" Katsuki barked from the other side of the room.

"Oh yeah, Katsuki, what happened to... _Tenya?"_ Denki asked, his voice softening on the last word. 

"Kurogiri came and whisked him away. He said they'd take care of him." Katsuki said, his words clipped. A heavy silence fell over the group as they took in that information.

"I'm sorry!" Eijirou wailed. "We didn't do anything..! We couldn't-!"

"Nobody blames you," Izuku cut him off gently. His voice shook dangerously. _I can't blame him, though..._

"If that's all," Yaomomo spoke up, hushing the murmurs of the group. "Then we should go down to the library and study some books on non-quirk-related fighting and strength techniques. Anything that'd help us fight the villains, or get out of here."

Mashirao, and the rest of his classmates, agreed with her idea. The group quietly got up and went down to the library, where the afternoon and evening were used for studying. All Mashirao learned was a possible weight trick that he'd try on the screws on the windows later. He really was starting to miss the sun.

It took the whole day to scour the entirety of the massive U.A. library, since Yaomomo decided to send half of the students on exploration duty again, in hopes of finding some secret passageway or weapons to use against the villains. At 10 P.M., the ringing of a bell sounded. On the new TV monitor, which was mounted on the library ceiling, a video flashed to life.

Mashirao stared in confusion at Monokuma's face on the screen. _What do they want..?_

"Ahem! This is a school announcement. It is now ten P.M. As such, it is now officially nighttime. Good night, sleep tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite..! Upuhuhu!" With that cheery message, the screen flickered back into darkness.

Tooru, who was sitting next to Mashirao, shut her book with a heavy snap, a red, velvet ribbon bookmark caught between the pages. "I guess we can't operate without sleep." Her eyelids were starting to droop, and in an overwhelming wave of tiredness Mashirao realized just how sleepy he had become.

"You're right," Yaomomo sighed, closing her book and resting it on the table next to her. "Come on, guys. Let's go find the exploration group and call it a day. I suppose we can sleep in the dorms."

And like that, after a long day's worth of emotional rollercoasters, Mashirao made his way back to his dorm space, which he had been supposed to share with Tenya.

"Good night, Tenya," Mashirao whispered, stroking his fingertips along Tenya's nameplate. He sighed before entering his own room.

His dorm, as aligned with his assigned Ultimate talent of _'Ultimate Martial Artist',_ was filled with training equipment, wall murals, and sliding screens, styled like a professional dojo; he vaguely wondered what the others' rooms looked like in comparison.

Mashirao showered and changed before collapsing in bed, his consciousness drifting away as soon as his head hid the pillow. 

_Our first day here... it's over already._

~~~

The next day, everyone gathered once more in the cafeteria. Upon a short discussion, the group decided to study the papers the previous evening's exploration revealed in the principal's office. They consisted of some emergency plans in case of villain attacks -all of which obviously failed in the face of reality- and a blueprint for an evacuation bunker, which had a 'REJECTED' stamp in the corner in red ink. In other words, they had wasted two hours.

Half of the class decided to go back to the library, and perhaps tinker with the computers a little. The other half -including Mashirao- decided to go up to the kitchen and make a feast for lunch. Aside from some light snacks the previous evening, nobody had had a meal since they arrived last morning. Nobody could really stomach anything the previous night, either, with death and gore fresh on their minds.

_Last morning. Was it only that short a while ago that Tenya had been alive, that we'd all been alive and composed?_

And that was how Mashirao found himself in the massive kitchen across from the cafeteria. He busied himself by filling a rice pot with water and rinsing the white grains. As he did so, he glanced absently over at Hitoshi.

The violette was idly spinning a wooden spoon inside his pot of miso on the range set next to Mashirao's. He was wearing that faraway look again, not even noticing when he began to overmix the soup.

"Hey. Hitoshi?" Mashirao asked softly, just loud enough for the teen in question to hear him over the bustle of the kitchen around him. When Hitoshi didn't respond, Mashirao turned off the water and placed his pot on the counter, leaning over to gently nudge Hitoshi on the shoulder. "Hitoshi?"

Hitoshi jumped, nearly dropping the spoon. "What?" he asked as he regained part of his composure.

"Um, you kind of had a weird look in your eyes... it was a little concerning." No way Mashirao was going to confess how much he'd been worrying over him and Ochako's states over the past day. Ochako's mental instability he could understand, with her family and whatnot, but he didn't even know himself why he worried so much about _Hitoshi,_ of all people. 

He could be monitoring Fumikage, who seemed so unfazed it was unnerving, or Tamaki, who seemed insecure to levels of dysfunctionality ever since the capture, but instead, he couldn't stop worrying about this _stupid_ brainwasher guy who used him like a toy in the Sports Tournament.

"P-plus, um, you're messing up the soup," Mashirao added quickly when Hitoshi met his gaze with unresponsive, clouded indigo eyes. At that, the violette glanced down and lifted his spoon.

"Thanks, I suppose," Hitoshi muttered. He tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot, shaking the excess liquid off of it, before turning around to go get a ladle and bowl from the cupboard.

Mashirao sighed. He returned to his own job of washing the rice, while switching over to sneak glances at Ochako, whom he also had his eye on, albeit less than Hitoshi.

There she was, talking to Mezou and Rikidou. The trio were by the cupboards and cabinets containing baking supplies and a variety of other treats, like spices and dried fruits. Regardless, Ochako was holding up a bag of what looked like flour.

"Mezou, Rikidou! Look what I found!" Ochako lifted up her little trinket.

"What is that?" Mezou asked the question Mashirao had in mind. The octopus-man's hands were full with the two pots of udon he was about to take to the central island the cooks had reserved for finished dishes.

"Is that mochiko?" Rikidou suddenly spoke up. He had been making a tray of pastries, and was about to slide it into the oven behind him.

"Yup!" Ochako's voice was surprisingly bright. When Mashirao shot a glance over at her, he saw the renewed happiness in her chocolate eyes. "I can make mochi! In fact, I'll go make some right now!"

_So she's recovered, it seems... looking at her now, it's hard to think of how depressed she was yesterday, when Izuku and Tsuyu had to comfort her as she cried in the hallway after the noon meeting._

After about half an hour, Mashirao and Yaomomo had managed to gather everyone in the cafeteria for their nice lunch. They'd all filled their plates and bowls, had a toast, and started eating when Tsuyu spoke up over the light chatter.

"Guys, _kero,"_ she called out, catching the attention of the group. "Since we're all here for a leisurely time for once, how about we share our Ultimate titles? If we're to honor Tenya and be a team, it's best if we know each other completely, including sharing these given names."

That roused some murmurs, but for the most part everyone consented.

"I guess we can go around the table," Tsuyu said after taking a sip of her drink. "I'm the Ultimate Swimmer, _kero._ I suppose it makes sense. For my training, I joined my school swim team. I've made regional and national youth competitions." Tsuyu's expression was neutral, her appearance calm.

"Impressive," Ochako grinned through a mouthful of rice. "I'm the Ultimate Mochi Chef! Fitting, I know." She shot a glance down at the dish of mochi containing various fillings on the table, which she'd made. _The dish in question to her Ultimate must've cheered her up,_ Mashirao mused. _A little random, but it's understandable._

"I'm the Ultimate Hope, whatever that means. This mochi is delicious, by the way," Izuku added. His voice still trembled at times, but he seemed to be less fearful than the day before.

"Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist," Shouto stated without any further elaboration as he continued slurping his cold soba.

"I'm the Ultimate Affluent Progeny," Yaomomo said, disappointed. "I suppose they couldn't think of any better traits of mine."

"Villains can be just stupid," Kyouka said in a gesture of comfort. "And I'm the Ultimate Musician," she continued. "I mean, it kinda works, considering I can play a bunch of instruments..."

"Are you kiddin' me? You can play a ton of instruments, AND you're really, _really_ good!" Denki reassured, patting her arm. "Ultimate Electrician over here, by the way," he added. "Other than my former Electricity Quirk, I helped my dad on the job a lot. He's an electrician, so it kind of rubbed off on me."

"I'm the Ultimate Bodybuilder!" Eijirou gave a crooked half-grin. "I guess it does make sense."

"Ultimate Explosion King," Katsuki snarled through a mouthful of spicy curry.

"Oh come on, we all know that can't be your legit title. Spit it out!" Tooru waved her arms at Katsuki, nearly taking out Mashirao's face, as well as his bowl of rice and Mezou's udon.

"None of your goddamn business, Ghosty!" Katsuki yelled back across the table.

"Give it up, Tooru, he won't answer," Mina waved her hand at her friend. "I'm the Ultimate Dancer," she continued. "Apparently my dancing is a lot better than I thought! Or they couldn't think of any other memorable things about me."

"I'm sure your dancing's great," Hanta interjected. "I'm the Ultimate Arachnologist. I studied spiders in my spare time to come up with interesting ways to use my Quirk, and I kept a tarantula as a pet as well. I think he should be okay, as long as he managed to get out of his tank..." He murmured the last part worriedly, his eyes clouding over.

_'Personally, I'm scared of spiders...'_ Kouji signed, subtly shuffling his chair away from Hanta. _'But... I'm the Ultimate Animal Tamer.'_ He seemed anxious, as usual.

"Ultimate Nightwalker," Fumikage stated, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. _He's still wearing that undisturbed look..._

"Creepy! Like, does that mean you're basically a night-owl? Someone who goes around at night instead of day?" Nejire Nejire'd, calling out her questions from the other end of the table.

"I suppose you could put it like that," Fumikage replied. Since the room was quiet, spare the sound of the heating systems running and the clinking of utensils, the two could hear each other perfectly fine.

"I find that Ultimate intriguing, Fumikage," Mezou put in. "I do wonder how you resist from falling asleep in class if you're half nocturnal. Spare the answer," he swiftly added as Fumikage opened his beak to respond. "Personally, I am the Ultimate Heavylifter."

"That sounds about right, since you're super strong, even without your extra arms," Tooru chimed in. "I'm the Ultimate Artist!"

_...Ultimate Artist? She's never brought that up before, and her room had zero art and painting supplies in it, too..._

"I've never seen any work of yours," Mashirao noted. "You'll have to show me sometime. What's your main focus?"

"Oh, I focus primarily on painting. I took a painting club up until I passed the U.A. Entrance Exam. I don't really have any paintings on me right now, since... well..." Tooru trailed off.

"I could ask the League for painting supplies," Mashirao suggested. "If they're going to continue to provide us with food and shelter, they probably wouldn't mind that."

Tooru nodded slowly, as if hesitant of the idea of the League providing her her supplies. "Later, I suppose."

"Yeah, once we've all settled. Ah, I'm the Ultimate Martial Artist myself," Mashirao announced to the group, realizing that he hadn't yet revealed his own talent. "It's accurate, alright."

"And I'm the Ultimate Psychic," Hitoshi continued the chain. His eyes had regained some focus. The upbeat atmosphere of the group was starting to rub off on him, it seemed.

However, Hitoshi didn't elaborate at all, which was rather unlike him. Mei noticed the silence and cleared her throat, her magenta gloves having been removed for the meal.

"If we're continuing, I'm the Ultimate Inventor! I mean, I did make the adjustments for all of your hero outfits, didn't I?" Mei's calculating, yellow eyes gleamed with pride, having regained some spunk.

"Power Loader-Sensei did mine ☆," Yuga retorted. _"Et je suis le Modèle Ultime ☆!"_

"...That means 'Ultimate Model'," Izuku added to translate the blonde's words.

"You're too French for us," Rikidou joked. "Moving along, I'm the Ultimate Baker."

A small silence followed. Mashirao cleared his throat. "Tenya..." He glanced over at the empty seat between Rikidou and Nejire. "Tenya was the Ultimate Race Car Driver. I once heard him say he used to participate in races... He mostly won first or second."

"I never would've expected Tenya to be a race car driver," Nejire commented. Mashirao smiled, glad that everyone had decided not to wallow in their grief. "I'm the Ultimate Beauty Pageant Star, by the way!"

"Well," Tamaki murmured. "I'm the Ultimate Florist." He didn't speak any more, which seemed like something he would do, but he still seemed excessively anxious, fiddling with his chopsticks.

"And I'm the Ultimate Hope, too!" Mirio announced, finishing up the ring of students. "It looks like we can twin, Izuku!"

The rest of the meal went on without trouble. For the afternoon, the group continued exploration.

_There goes another day,_ Mashirao thought as he collapsed in bed that night. _Another day of practically useless exploration. At least we figured out the whole thing with the Ultimates, though. That was all we actually figured out..._

~~~

The next day passed with ease as well. The group split up and did a re-exploration, with Eijirou and Kyouka uncovering some questionable items -matches, pocket knives, and poisons, to name a few- from various locations.

Again, they had group meals, discussing their past experiences outside of hero work and relating to their Ultimates. By the end of it, Mashirao had learned that Fumikage occasionally goes days without sleep, Mezou once went to the United States for a wrestling competition, and Tooru's favorite hobby was attending museums.

At the end of the day, though, it wasn't much. There was nothing that pointed in the direction of escape.

Mashirao went to bed once again in his dorm. _We're not making any progress... all we found were some matches, which are useless anyway..._

He'd drifted off to sleep. He didn't know for how long, but he was awoken in the night by a knock on his door.

"Hm?" Mashirao sat up with a start. The lights were still off, indicating it was still night-time. Mashirao squinted at the clock on the wall, waiting for his eyes to adjust, and just barely made out the hour hand, which was a smidge past 3 A.M..

"Who would wake me up at three in the morning? And why me?" Mashirao grumbled to himself as he dragged himself over to the door in his slippers. As he opened the door, letting the overly bright light of the common area into his room, his eyes widened.

"Wh- Hitoshi?" Mashirao was so surprised he couldn't even bother giving a proper greeting, and he considered himself a polite person. "What are you doing here? And why are you awake?"

His eyes flickered across the slightly taller violette's face. The bags under his eyes had grown much more prominent, and his eyes were tinged with red.

"Err- I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come over and maybe talk..." Hitoshi awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Come in, then," Mashirao said slowly, opening the door fully and half-blinding himself in the process. He assumed Hitoshi wanted to talk to _him_ in particular because of how he'd noticed his drop in mood. Fumikage, who was his neighboring dormmate, wasn't the most sympathetic or patient of people, and Denki wasn't exactly one to sit still, either. _Plus, Izuku might still want to be left alone._

Hitoshi hovered hesitantly in the middle of the room, lost amidst the equipment scattered around him. Mashirao shuffled over in the dim lighting, approaching his bed. "Come and sit." He patted the sheets next to him, and Hitoshi complied, settling on the mattress. An awkward beat of silence passed between them, and Mashirao cleared his throat. "So, um... talk?" 

The violette took a heavy breath. "It's about the videos. I kept thinking about them, and I feel bad because of it."

_Well, clearly he's the definition of 'to-the-point'._ "Well then, what did they show you?"

Hitoshi hesitated, then sighed. "I suppose with all that's been going on, the secret wouldn't be worth keeping..." His violet eyes glistened in the darkness. "They showed me my family. Aizawa and Yamada... and Eri, too."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Mashirao waved his hands at Hitoshi's face, unknowingly nearly stabbing him in the eye as his brain did backflips. "Your parents are OUR TEACHERS?"

"Mmh-hmm..."

"AND THEY'RE MARRIED?!"

"Yeah," Hitoshi murmured softly. "The whole thing is supposed to be a secret, though, so don't go telling everyone else.

"Anyways, the video kinda shook me. I was close to them, you know..? They had adopted me when I was eight. The entire concept of affection had been foreign to me before then, and they'd made up for it. They really were my family. And now they're prisoners at the mercy of the villains, depending on whether or not we _murder_ someone for the sake of their freedom..." Hitoshi's voice tapered off. Mashirao felt pity wash over himself as Hitoshi continued.

"Then there was Tenya's death. He'd been a great friend to me. He was always there for me when my dads couldn't be. And now he's gone, too. And everyone accepted it, took his ideals in stride and pushed forward, staying strong for each other. I just couldn't do it.

"I tried, Mashirao. I tried to remember what Tenya would've wanted, what my family would've told me. But instead, they weighed on me like a ton of bricks, and I couldn't help but feel what Monokuma said he'd wanted: despair." In the darkness, Shinsou shook his head, his eyes clouding over.

"What hero wallows in his own grief? What hero is selfish enough to let down his friend and family's ideals, and fall into the villains' trap?"

Those words stung deep in Mashirao's mind, and he got a frightening, powerful sense of Deja vu. He shook it off and reached out a hand to place on Hitoshi's shoulder.

"Everyone's feeling the same as you right now," Mashirao soothed. "Some are able to trick themselves into thinking it's alright, so they hide the grief better. Nobody has really moved past Tenya's death. It's alright. You're not weak. We'll all be here for you, too. Nobody else will die."

Hitoshi's eyes glistened, and under the shadows that shrouded him, he seemed to shudder. He sighed, his expression softening. "Thanks, Mashirao."

Mashirao would never admit the bubbly satisfaction he felt at Hitoshi saying his name with genuine warmth in his voice.

"It's nothing," he forced himself to say. "Do you want to stay a bit longer or go back to your room?"

"I can stay, if you don't mind."

"It's fine."

_Maybe everything will be alright after all. _


	6. Chapter 1 : To Survive; Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero - Part 3 - Deadly Life

On the fifth day of being trapped at U.A., disaster struck.

It was just before 7 PM. Izuku was making his way back to his room after paying a visit to Mei, who was tinkering away in the Support Lab, when he ran into Ochako.

"Deku!" she cried, pelting down the hall towards him. She collapsed in his arms, her breathing heavy. Izuku was too shocked for a moment to even speak, before fear set in.

His jade eyes widened as Ochako pulled back. There were dark pink stains up her ripped sleeves and torn cuffs, as well as a bleeding cut on her cheek. Tears bubbled over her wide, brown eyes, which must've made the wound sting even more, although she didn't seem to care. "What happened, Ochako?"

"The- the kitchen!" Ochako wailed, sobbing even louder. At this point, several figures had overheard her and darted around the corner.

"Ochako!" Nejire rushed forward, closely tailed by Tsuyu. "What happened?! _Oh my god, you're bleeding! _Hold on, let me go get some supplies from the Nurse's..!" She was rushing away before she even finished her sentence. _Hopefully she doesn't trip on her heels..._

"_Kero! _Ochako, what happened?" Tsuyu was asking the same question Nejire had asked before, alarm evident in her voice. Ochako started trembling and crumpled in her arms, sobbing too hard to reply.

"The kitchen." Fear began to dawn on Izuku, a knot forming at the bottom of his stomach. "She told me 'the kitchen'."

"Let's get down there, then," Tsuyu ribitted.

"No, don't let me go back there!" Ochako began to wail again. She wrapped her arms around Tsuyu and held onto her, much like a small child latching onto their mother. "Don't..!"

"I'll take her to the Nurse's. I think it would be best if Nejire and I stayed with her. We can meet up with you later, _kero_." Tsuyu's voice and demeanor were deceptively calm, as her jade eyes shone with fear and her body was shaking. She clutched Ochako as if she could slip away any moment.

Izuku began to run, tripping down the stairs and catching himself on the landing with his hands. He leaped up and continued to run, running and running, hitting the landing-

Izuku's breath caught in his throat. He fell to his knees as his limbs crumpled underneath him.

_A dead body._

_A river of blood flowing from a dark, fuchsia hole that pierced deep into the victim's throat, darker, pulsing flesh revealed from within the neck it resided._

_A blood-splattered white outfit._

_Wide, pearly eyes, the pupils having rolled into the back of their head._

_And the blood. There was pink liquid everywhere, trailing towards the kitchen door..._

Rikidou Satou was dead.

Izuku suddenly heard the sound of screaming. It took him a moment to even realize he was the one emitting the noise. He shut his jaws with a dull _snap _and trembled in a miserable heap on the floor, eyes fixed on the corpse, until he heard a rush of footsteps behind him.

"Izuku!" Eijirou had evidently heard his screams and came running. Moments later, four more pairs of feet thundered down as well.

Everyone could only stare, for what felt like millennia, at Rikidou's unmoving corpse gushing pink blood all over the floor.

The nearest TV screen on the ceiling suddenly crackled to life. Izuku tore his eyes away to gaze up at it.

_Monokuma. Of course._

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

It flickered back to darkness.

Stunned silence. Then-

Another scream.

_That'd be Nejire, _Izuku thought, his brain snapping back into motion.

_Rikidou Satou is dead. There's no way he can just be unconscious with that much blood being lost, especially with it coming out a mysterious neck wound. And what was that Monokuma mentioned? Class trial? What would that be?!_

"Ri-Rik-Rikidou!" Nejire stammered, her voice shaking. Izuku still couldn't quite turn to face her, but she was clearly behind him.

"What happened..?" Tsuyu asked raspily, her voice trembling. Ochako was still crying, as evident of her choked sobs and whimpers.

"Well, one of you killed him, that's what!" Monokuma suddenly jumped out from behind the bend in the hall. He delicately stepped over the pooling blood to approach them.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ONE OF US?!" Izuku suddenly felt words being ripped from his throat, leaping up in a bout of rage. Burning tears welled over his eyes. "Are you saying one of us killed him?! Impossible!"

"Possible," Monokuma purred. "It wasn't me, or Shigaraki, or any villain, really! We just wanted to see you all spiral into despair, remember? Why would we do this thing for you when you could do it yourselves?"

A beat of silence.

"One of you remaining twenty-two students murdered Rikidou Satou," the rodent reinforced. "And you're all gonna find out who!"

"What do you mean, we're gonna find out? They're about to graduate, right? You'll announce them and-"

"Puhuhu, my sweet Nejire! It's not that easy! The murderer now has to get away with it!"

"What do you mean, _get away with it?"_ Izuku's voice trembled as he wiped the tears out his eyes, his brain beginning to whir once again.

"The class trial!" Monokuma held up his paws like this was the greatest thing in the world. "As my announcement stated, you will all have a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, before we have a trial and you kiddos piece together who the murderer is! But before I leave..."

Monokuma whipped out a small tablet. On the back of it, it read _'Monokuma File I'_ in silver lettering. "Behold, the Monokuma File!"

"Monokuma File..?"

"Yes, the Monokuma File! A case summary! It will be of use to you... Puhuhu.."

With that, Monokuma waddled off, disappearing around the corner.

Stunned silence. Then-

"If w-we're going to have a trial... maybe we should gather some evidence?" Yaomomo's voice was small and shaky. She was clearly terrified.

"I agree with her." Fumikage suddenly stepped forward. Out of shock, Izuku turned to look at him. The bird-headed male was perfectly calm as he approached the body.

"If we're to get anywhere in the trial, we'll need to gather evidence. What's a claim without proof?" He knelt down next to Rikidou and began to inspect his body.

_>Investigate!<_

***

The group began to regain their wits. Most of the class, including Hanta, slowly trailed behind Fumikage. He was running a gloved finger over Rikidou's throat and prodding at the hole of a fatal wound, causing the blood to violently bubble out of it like a fountain.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Mina stammered, mirroring Hanta's shock at Fumikage's calm inspection of the wound.

"Inspecting the body." Fumikage _tch_ed. "Why are you all standing there staring at me like you're brain-dead? Read the Monokuma File. Go inspect the area if you don't want to see the corpse!"

"But- he's d-dead, and-"

"In times like this, you have to adapt to your environment. Those who can't adapt die." Fumikage continued inspecting the wound, the pink blood staining his gloves. "Help me by looking around. Hell, check around the entire school. This class isn't filled with idiots; anyone with a shroud of intelligence could've concocted a careful, widespread plan for such a quiet murder."

Hanta swallowed as the group slowly began to disperse. He decided to stick by, in case the murderer decided to do anything else. As much as he hated it, he noticed the suspicious looks his friends were giving each other.

_We can't let the villains win. We can't be driven into paranoia by their scheme..._

_We'll find out who it was. Then we'll be alright._

Hanta picked up the tablet. He turned it over, and the screen lit up with a single-page summary.

_'Case I_

_Victim: Rikidou Satou_

_Fatal Wound: Throat impalement._

_Other Wounds: None._

_Weapon: It seems a thin, sharp object was stabbed into the throat._

_When: 18:56'_

"Strange," Izuku noted softly from Hanta's side, sounding a little shaky. "A thin, sharp object?"

"I'm trying to extract it," Fumikage spoke up. When Hanta looked down, he instantly regretted it as he saw the more violent washing of pink blood on Fumikage's gloves, sleeves, and boots.

"It's in quite deep," Fumikage continued. From behind Hanta, Izuku involuntarily gagged. "And it's so messy I can barely, just _barely_ tell where the esophagus and trachea are, as well as the weapon. Not a very clean shot. Even before I started prodding the wound, it was already enough to leave behind evidence."

"W-We'll let you continue then..." Izuku quickly said, ignoring Fumikage's careful comments on the evidence. Hanta's eyes were fixated painfully upon the Nightwalker's drenched fingers, which were miraculously -expertly, even- opening the wound and widening the hole while pressuring all the right points to make sure the blood didn't squirt upwards and get on the rest of his outfit.

Weaving around the body while trying not to look at it, Hanta started his investigation in the kitchen with Izuku matching his steps. As they started to enter the room, Hanta noticed the irregular, jagged trail of bloodstains. _I'm guessing this is what Fumikage meant by 'evidence'..._

The liquid was smeared, leading into the kitchen.

_Or leading from..._

Hanta turned to enter the kitchen, stepping cautiously over the bloodstains, when he halted, causing Izuku to yelp in surprise and nearly run into him.

The smudged blood trail led down the aisle directly in front of him, stopping in front of the oven, where a larger pool of blood was. A couple feet to the right of it, there was a spillage of some kind of white flour. There was a swirl of blood in the powder, and a trail of footprints that appeared to be of blood and white powder lead into the spill.

"It looks odd, the footprint trail," Izuku commented. "They lead into the powder, but looking at the prints, the person would've had to step in the powder and blood first..." He trailed off, the pitch of his voice rising in anxiety and cracking.

Hanta glanced around the kitchen, eyes darting from place to place, drinking in the details. He noticed several subtle things wrong with the room; the scratch on the counter, the mess of more white footprints just around the corner of the kitchen island, the slightly open cupboard around the bend...

Hanta stepped over the mess of footprints towards the cupboard. He slid it open, and-

"A cabinet of baking supplies." There was a haphazard heap of items at the front of the cupboard. He picked up the mostly-used bag of white flour that was sealed with a pin. Reading the label, he didn't recognize the name and placed it on the counter.

Continuing through the various ingredients, he picked out a spatula, a cutting board, a pan, some baking sheets, sugar, cornstarch, and a small bottle of red bean paste. The bottle had a smudged bloody fingerprint on it, but it was almost indistinguishable other than a few lines that identified it as a fingerprint and not a mere smudged drop.

Looking up, he also noticed a liquid measuring cup next to the sink. He reached over and was about to inspect it for any suspicious cracks -hey, Fumikage did say to check everything- when he heard a small "Hanta?" from behind him.

The ravenette in question jumped and whirled around, meeting Izuku's anxious jade gaze.

"Um, sorry..." Izuku awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just- I found something you should check out."

He pointed at the drying rack. When Hanta followed his finger, he noticed an obviously wetter item on it among the dishes from dinner, the silvery blade coated in water droplets.

"A paring knife?" He leaned over to look at it. "It looks perfectly normal. There are some small, thin scratches on it, though."

"Sorry for scaring you," Izuku quickly apologized. "I just thought it might be important."

"You might be right," Hanta replied softly, glancing from the dripping knife to the supplies on the counter and the open cupboard, where the contained items -aside from the baking supplies- were neatly organized and seemingly unused. "Let's keep looking around."

Nothing else was abnormal in the kitchen. As Hanta and Izuku circled around the island to go to the door, something on the floor caught Hanta's eye.

He leaned down and gingerly picked it up. He instantly dropped it when he realized what it was.

"A bloody towel," He noted as Izuku leaned down to look at the now-overturned cloth. "We should keep note of this for later."

Exiting the kitchen, the two instantly ran into Fumikage.

"Ah, Fumikage!" Hanta tried not to look at the bird-headed teen's hands, but his eyes swiftly gravitated on their own will to the bloody gloves. He noticed that the Nightwalker was holding something thin and completely covered in blood. Mixed in with the liquid were small morsels of... flesh? _No, I most certainly am not going to wonder what else it could be-_

"GYAH!" Izuku couldn't suppress his yelp of surprise. "Wh-What is that?!"

"Judging by its shape and size, it appears to be a needle," Fumikage calmly replied. He continued into the kitchen. Hanta and Izuku both turned to watch the corpse-inspector calmly weave around the bloodstains, footprints, and spillage to access the sink and wash the object that may or may not be a needle. "I'll confirm with all of you later."

Hanta gulped and Izuku quickly stepped out of the kitchen, skirting around Rikidou's leaking, bloody corpse. The Arachnologist quickly followed suit, and the two dodged into the cafeteria.

Hanta immediately spotted Tsuyu, Ochako, Nejire, Mei, Tamaki, and Mirio standing in a cluster and conversing in hushed tones. Ochako was all bandaged up and had changed into her spare clothes, but she still looked shaky. Izuku strode over to her, so Hanta was obligated to follow.

"Ochako," Izuku greeted the brunette. "How do you feel?"

"S-Scared," She stammered. She began trembling, and Tsuyu and Nejire both started comforting her again, rubbing her back.

"If you don't mind..." Izuku's voice trailed off, as if hesitant to pry into her account.

"If I don't mind what?" Ochako asked quietly. She sniffled, refusing to make eye contact with him, but wasn't exactly cold to the idea of explaining.

"Um, could you just tell me what happened? Like, everything you remember? Hanta and I are collecting some evidence... But I don't want you to scare yourself or anything!" Izuku quickly added. "Do whatever you're comfortable with."

Ochako sighed. "I suppose a hero has to be strong and leave her comfort zone... I'll tell you.

"I had invited Rikidou to go baking with me after dinner. We were in the kitchen, getting all the supplies out, when the lights suddenly shut off..." She shuddered, thinking about the event. "I was about to call out to Rikidou when something hit me- a person, I think. They attacked me... and I ran. I ran away and left Rikidou to die..!" Tears welled in her soft, mocha eyes. "I-"

"AAAHH!" Someone's scream from the other side of the cafeteria cut her off. Ochako jumped, and Tsuyu and Nejire began to fuss over her again. Meanwhile, Izuku, Hanta, Mei, Mirio, and Tamaki turned towards the direction of the scream.

Mina stood in one corner of the cafeteria. Between them was a dividing half-wall, so all Hanta could see was Mina's terrified expression.

"Get over here, quickly!" Mina was pointing at something next to her. Mirio and Tamaki, who were the tallest of the group, leaned over the wall to see.

"Mezou," Mirio murmured. Tamaki made an alarmed sound somewhere between a squeak and a whimper. Hanta, being shorter, clambered onto the wall to peer over as well.

As Mina had apparently been trying to say, Hanta instantly spotted Mezou slumped over the table, his head down on top of his arm. Hanta swiftly slipped down and gently shook him by the shoulders.

"Mezou? Mezou, can you hear me? MEZOU??"

Mezou stirred at Hanta's direct yell into his ear and opened his eyes with a groan. "Hanta?"

Hanta let out a sigh of relief, and confusion swiftly overtook his initial worry. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story..." He must've noticed the unease in Hanta's eyes, because he asked, his voice full of concern, "What happened?"

"Rikidou is dead," Tamaki said softly from above them. He was staring at the floor by Mezou's feet. "Monokuma said one of us was the killer."

Mezou's eyes widened. "I have to go see the body." But as he got up, Hanta let out a yelp of terror.

"MEZOU! YOUR HAND!"

Mezou's left hand, which had been on his lap, and his cuff were both soaked in blood. He glanced down at it in confusion before seeing the drying stain. Mezou's eyes widened.

"W-What?" Mirio was wide-eyed from his new place a couple feet back from the wall; he had probably jumped back when he saw the bloodstain. Tamaki was holding onto his arm, trying to stay out of Mezou's line of vision. "Why is your hand bloody?!"

"I-I don't know!" His voice was incredulous as he waved the pink limb, which caused Izuku- who had followed Hanta to see- to yelp and leap over the wall in one bound. Hanta himself backed up a step. "I just-" Mezou trailed off when he saw the look in the others' eyes.

"I have an alibi! I'm not the killer!" He wailed in desperation. By now, everyone else in the cafeteria had also turned to them.

"M-Me-Mezou!" Ochako's voice was shaking horribly. Tsuyu and Nejire flanked her protectively. "Those bl-bloodstains are clear proof... you can't deny it! You killed Rikidou and attacked me, didn't you?! Why else would you be covered in blood?!"

"Ochako?!" Mezou's voice was laced with shock. "I never did such a thing! All I remember was coming here for tea and blacking out! And I'm not 'covered' in blood, it's just my arm, somehow!"

"What about your entire alibi?" Nejire asked. Her eyes were a clouded mixture of absolute terror and dark iciness. The hollow gashes in her demeanor sent a chill down Hanta's spine. _Even she's terrified by all this._

"Well, I was given an unsigned note earlier, saying to meet them in the cafeteria for tea," Mezou began. "So I went and when I got here, there was nobody here. Instead, on this table, there was a cup of tea and a note. _'Sorry, I had a change of plans. As an apology, have this cup of tea I made in a jiffy just for you.' _That's what it said. Again, it was unsigned. I drank some of the tea and just- blacked out. Next thing I knew, you woke me up here!" Mezou pointed down at the chair.

"L-Lies!" Ochako whimpered. "That whole tale sounds fishy! Who would give an invitation that was unsigned? You must've hid here with that poorly made-up story!"

"I never attacked anyone, much less killed anybody!" Mezou snapped in response. But by then it was too late, as everyone was staring at him with suspicion, fear, or a mixture of both.

Except for Hanta.

He lowered his gaze and stared gloomily at the ground, watching their shadows dance across the floor while his classmates argued.

_We're tearing ourselves apart..._

_I have to get more evidence. Prove Mezou is innocent... or prove he is truly to blame._

"What about the note you mentioned?" Ochako cried, her arms wrapped around her upper body.

"I-I don't know!" Mezou stuttered. "It was right there when I first saw it- I didn't even touch it!"

"Oh, I have an idea! Hang on just a sec..." Mina reached over and picked up the cup of tea. She stared down into its contents for a moment, sniffing the liquid slightly.

Then she raised the cup and began to drink it.

"MINA! THAT'S DANGEROUS!" Hanta screamed, rushing forward. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHA-"

Too late. Mina's eyelids drooped and she collapsed backwards, the cup falling out of her hands and shattering on the floor. The remaining quarter-cup of tea spilled across the tiles, and Hanta caught her as they both collapsed onto the ground.

"WAHH! MINA!" Nejire screeched, rushing forward and jumping the wall despite Mirio and Tamaki's concerned cries. She stumbled on her heels, but, as she regained her balance, ran forward to crouch over her friend nonetheless.

She pressed her fingers to the Dancer's neck and wrist. "Phooey," she sighed in relief. "She's alright. Just asleep, or unconscious, or something." She looked up at Mezou. "So you were telling the truth?"

"Or maybe- maybe he set it up so that if one of us tested the tea they'd black out!" Ochako declared.

"Why would I do that?" Mezou's eyes narrowed in a glare. "Of course I was telling the truth! I even have the first note. Right here!" He dug one hand into his pocket. He wriggled around for a moment before his eyes widened.

"It's not there." He fiddled through the rest of his pockets, his eyes a mixture of confusion and horror. "Why isn't it here?"

"So you have no evidence to prove your alibi? No confirmation from any other student? Can we believe a word of your tale?" Tamaki's voice was soft but deadly.

"I would never make up such an alibi! It's real, you fool!" Mezou rounded on Tamaki, his voice raising to a yell. Hanta flinched, having never seen calm, collected Mezou quite so furious. Tamaki jumped and dodged behind Mirio, who turned to protectively wrap an arm around him. The Florist eyed Mezou with fear, as he might attack him and slit his throat any second, while Mirio's eyes were chiseled shards of navy flint.

"Enough is enough." Everyone turned to see Fumikage stride into the cafeteria, hands in his pockets. There was still blood on his clothing and shoes, causing Ochako to visibly flinch.

"What happened to _you?"_ Mezou asked, suddenly befuddled. "I thought _Rikidou_ was... killed."

"I inspected the body and extracted the weapon. I took a look around the kitchen too; otherwise, I would've come in as soon as Mina screamed." He jumped onto the half-wall, knelt down between the two groups, and pulled his gloved hand out of his pocket.

On his gloved palm, on top of a stain of drying blood, was a shining, silvery needle. As Hanta stared at it, he realized that the tip end of the needle was slightly bent.

"I was right in my prediction. It seems to be a sewing needle." Fumikage slipped the needle back into his pocket and jumped down onto Hanta and Mezou's side. "Now quit your bickering. We don't have definitive evidence of Mezou's villainy yet. We don't have clear evidence for _anyone _yet." He looked down at the shattered glass and puddle of cooled tea on the floor.

"Now keep investigating," he continued when he was met with silence. "Trash cans can be useful. Check those serving stations too. There's too many nooks and crannies behind the counters." With that, Fumikage strode towards the nearest station, jumping into it with swift ease.

As instructed, the group spread out to explore the area once more. Mirio left to carry Mina upstairs to the Nurse's. Fumikage, Tamaki, Nejire, and Tsuyu started to explore the serving stations, while Ochako _"stood guard over Mezou",_ as she worded it. Izuku decided to stay with her.

Meanwhile, Hanta approached one of the massive trash cans in the corner of the room. He gulped and rolled up his sleeves, before lifting the lid off the can.

He immediately noticed the small bottle on top of the reeking food waste. He carefully reached down and picked it up.

"Sleeping pills?" Hanta slowly read the label on the bottle aloud. He put the lid back on the can, still holding the bottle, before approaching Fumikage with his discovery.

"I found this. I think it'll be useful in the trial," Hanta said. Fumikage took the bottle, turned it around, and smiled grimly.

"Thank you, Hanta." He tucked the bottle into his pocket before turning on his heel to continue investigation.

Hanta continued examining the trash cans, but found nothing else. As the group gathered and began to discuss where to explore next, the TV on the ceiling suddenly crackled to life.

"Attention, students! This commences the end of the investigation. Please gather at the elevator on the ground floor as soon as possible! Puhuhu..." Monokuma's voice boomed over the speakers as well, his final laugh sending chills down Hanta's spine.

The group stood in stunned silence for a heartbeat. Of course, he was the one to break the silence.

"I suppose we must go, then." Fumikage started towards the cafeteria doors, all the evidence they'd collected in his pockets. Mezou began to follow, loosely tailed by Ochako and in turn Izuku. Tsuyu, Nejire, and Mirio went next, with Tamaki keeping close to the fellow Big Three members. Hanta left last, glancing around before shutting the door.

The body was still in the hall. It seemed Kurogiri had yet to clean it up due to the ongoing investigation, but Hanta suspected he'd do it during the trial.

All 22 students gathered in the elevator room on Floor Zero. It was nothing extraordinary; a small room, with a small elevator against the wall. At least, that's how it used to look.

The League of Villains had evidently rebuilt the entire place, because the small elevator had been replaced by a massive one behind a pair of wrought iron gates.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Hanta was jolted out of his shocked stare at the gates by a shrill, robotic voice. He jumped, only to see Monokuma perched atop the metal bars.

"Puhuhu! Did I scare you? Not that I care!" Monokuma jumped over to stand right in front of the exit door. "Now that you're all here, jump on!"

On his cue, the gates swung open. The students slowly poured onto the massive bronze elevator. There was just enough space for all of them; as a result, Hanta was pressed against a wall by Tsuyu and Mina, who was still half out-of-it but coherent enough not to collapse.

The elevator doors closed and the gates shut with a creaky _SLAM_. The machine rumbled to life and began to descend.

Hanta glanced around the elevator, his eyes landing on the fellow students, one by one.

_One of us killed Rikidou Satou. One of us killed our own classmate for a chance at escape._

_And we're about to find out who it was._

The elevator continued to creak downwards.

_The murderer is among us._

_A traitor, a deception, a mystery..._

_A class trial._

The elevator clicked to a stop. 


	7. Chapter 1 : To Survive; Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero - Part 4 - Class Trial

The trial room was beautiful.

The elevator spilled out onto a massive, ornate circular room, lit by the grand diamond chandelier hanging from the high ceiling above. At the center of the room was a ring of small, fenced half-circle podiums that faced inwards, creating little a circle of stands. There were 24 of these in total around the circle; each one had a gold name-plate on the railing, as well as a small lever and panel display.

The floor had a black and white checkered pattern. A red rug with gold rimming led from the elevator to around the ring of placements. The walls were dark blue, with golden columns and red curtains for decoration.

On the end of the room, directly in front of the crowd of students, was a set of five stairs. They led to a tiny, raised half-circle stage of sorts that was also covered in the red rug. On the little plateau was a crimson and gold throne. And on the throne-

"Ah, you've arrived."

Shigaraki absently scratched his pale dry-ass neck. "Please find your assigned spots. Quickly, now."

The group of students hustled around the large circle, taking their rightful places. However, there were two vacant podiums. In place of where a person would stand, there was a sign boasting a mugshot of the respective boys. A large, red X was drawn over their faces.

"Why would you keep the signs for Tenya and Rikidou?" Izuku softly asked aloud the question surfacing in Hanta's mind.

"Just because they died doesn't mean they should be prohibited from participating in the trials," Shigaraki stated dully. "Now, then." He regarded the students with a shadowed crimson stare through the fingers of Father, his dismembered hand. "Monokuma, would you do the honors?"

"Of course!" Monokuma jumped down from his risky seat atop Shigaraki's throne and marched up to a tall podium, which was separate from the ring of students, in front of the staircase. "Let me explain the rules of the class trial!

"In the class trial, you will strive to uncover whodunnit! At the end, you will take a vote! If the majority votes correctly, only the murderer -or _Blackened_\- will be punished. But if you choose the wrong one... we will punish everyone besides the Blackened, who goes free with a bounty of added rewards!

"Are you all ready? Then let the class trial begin!" Monokuma jumped down from the podium and re-took his spot atop the throne.

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"So... Our first trial." Hanta took a shuddering breath. "I never would've imagined that we would have to hold a trial accusing one of our friends of killing our classmate."

"Yeah. It all seems so surreal..." Yaomomo's voice was hushed with an odd sort of shocked wonder at the absurdity of the situation.

"Let's begin, then, shall we?" Fumikage cleared his throat. "We should start with what we do know; that's a rule of thumb."

"What do we know? Rikidou was killed. That's it," Denki said anxiously.

"I mean the Monokuma File." Fumikage looked to Hanta. "I believe you have it."

"Oh! Right." He pulled out the tablet and began to recite the information. "The victim is Rikidou Satou. He died from throat impalement. He has no other wounds. The murder weapon is a thin, sharp object. The time of death was about seven in the evening." He looked up from the screen.

"Now then, I believe the murder weapon goes without question," Fumikage stated. "I extracted it from the victim's wound itself."

_A thin, sharp object Fumikage removed from the victim's throat... ah, it's obviously-_

_>Select a Truth Bullet<_

_..._

_>Needle : I got it!<_

"The needle, right?" Hanta looked to the Nightwalker for confirmation. "You specifically extracted it during your autopsy."

"Yes, precisely so," Fumikage confirmed.

"So that means that the murderer attacked Rikidou with a needle, and managed to only hit him once. That one time was the killing blow," Shouto said.

"So there wasn't a fight?" Mei spoke up. "I mean, Rikidou's strong. He would've fought back if he realized he had been jumped."

"Not necessarily so. There was another possible weapon at the crime scene, one that was involved in the case but not used as a murder device," Fumikage explained.

_Another weapon? _Hanta thought. _Perhaps it's..._

_>Select the Correct Answer:_

_Needle_

_Paring Knife_

_Sleep Pills<_

_>Paring Knife : I got it!<_

"The paring knife. It had scratches on the sides of the blade and had been recently washed by the time of investigation," Hanta said.

"Yeah, that! The obvious signs of wear suggest that it'd been used," Izuku exclaimed. "How, though? Rikidou had no other injuries, and the needle was the weapon."

"So... there was a scratch on the knife, right? What if the scratch was from the needle?" Nejire suggested.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Yuga asked.

"That means... that there was a fight between the killer and the victim!" the bluette declared.

_>Non-stop Debate: Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #1, Mezou's Account, Ochako's Account, Spilled White Powder, Paring Knife, Fumikage's Autopsy, Needle, Footprints<_

"A fight? Between the killer and Rikidou?" Eijirou questioned.

"Yeah!" Nejire affirmed.

"So, the killer jumps Rikidou, and Rikidou notices and **fights back with the knife**," she explained.

"If there'd been a fight, wouldn't there be evidence of a tussle?" Mina asked. "But there was **none**, right?"

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Spilled White Powder : Counter!<_

"Someone had spilled some white powder on the floor in the kitchen," Hanta said. "That's the evidence of the tussle. It must've happened while they were fighting."

"The scratches on the paring knife confirm the claim, _kero," _Tsuyu ribbited. "They definitely look like they could have been made by a thin object."

"So it was scratched by the needle?" Izuku questioned.

"Yeah," Hanta replied. "Which means..."

_>Choose the Correct Answer:_

_Rikidou used the knife_

_The killer used the knife_

_The knife wasn't used<_

_>Rikidou used the knife : I got it!<_

"If the killer wielded a needle, then that means Rikidou used the knife. Likely in self defense, as a parry, judging by the scratches," Hanta explained.

"Alright! So we now know how the two weapons were involved!" Mirio said encouragingly.

"Mirio... you're a bit too enthusiastic," Tamaki muttered.

"Just as Mirio said, we know how the knife and needle were used now," Shouto continued. "So how were both of them brought into the case?"

"I think the paring knife was already there, in the kitchen," Mei stated. "So how did the killer get their needle?"

"Well, all the girls were given sewing kits, which included needles," Tsuyu said.

"Gah! Tsu, why'd you say that?! Now everyone's gonna suspect us!" Tooru yelped.

"_Kero_. It's a fact, so I had to share it. However, there were also needles in the Nurse's office, for stitches. It's identical to a sewing needle, so there's no definitive way of knowing where it came from," Tsuyu continued.

"Alright, so the needle came from one of those two places," Fumikage said. "Without more evidence, we cannot determine anything further. Any suggestions as to what to do instead?"

"What about the scene of the crime?" Yaomomo inquired. "The kitchen was filled with evidence. We can determine a lot about the nature of the case from that."

"True. During their tussle with Rikidou, the killer did make quite a mess," Shouto murmured. "The spilt powder says as much."

"B-Because of that powder... they left behind footprints," Kouji mumbled.

"Yes. There was another item used after Rikidou's death that was used to halt the glaringly obvious trail, though," Fumikage noted.

_An item used to remove footprints... It must be-_

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Bloody Towel : I got it!<_

"You must mean the bloody towel," Hanta said. "It had been lying on the floor next to where the backwards footprints stopped."

"Exactly. The killer must've been dragging Rikidou when they noticed their footprints. Preoccupied with their task at hand, they hastily wiped off just their feet and continued moving the body, scared that they'd be seen," Fumikage visualized.

"This evidence gives us a timeline of events, sort of," Mirio said. "If we combine this with Ochako's account, we could come up with a coherent story of sorts."

"Right! Ochako, your account!" The brunette, who had been silent up to this point, turned to Nejire. "Could you repeat it for us so we can incorporate it into our timeline so far?"

"Oh... sure." The Mochi Chef glanced around the room, her gaze glazing over Mezou for a moment before she turned away. "Well, I was in the kitchen with Rikidou after dinner. We'd gotten out the ingredients for mochi, the dish we were planning on making. We were about to start working when the lights turned off, and someone jumped me. They... they left behind these wounds." She pointed vaguely at the bandage on her face. "I ran away... I didn't know what happened to Rikidou after that. I'm... I'm sorry."

Tears welled in her clouded eyes, hot, liquid diamonds cascading down her face. "I'm sorry I left him to die..." She moved swiftly to wipe them.

"It's not your fault, Ochako," Izuku murmured. "Anyone would've ran in that situati-"

"But... I think I know who the killer is, too." She cut him off before he could offer her any more comfort. Her expression had turned cold. "Mezou was found in the cafeteria during investigation with blood on his clothes, right? He also has the physique to attack me like that. It has to be him..! _IT HAS TO BE HIM!"_

Hanta jumped; Ochako's stance had changed entirely, as she was now pointing at Mezou with fire in her eyes and a determined grimace set in her face. Her glare was matching his equally. "Mezou killed Rikidou! It could only be him!"

"How many times must I say this?! I'm not the killer!" Mezou snapped, seething. "I went to the cafeteria, drank the tea, and passed out!"

"That's absurd, even for a lie!"

"Mina tried the tea! It was authentic!"

"You could've set it up!"

"W-Wait..! Calm down, Ochako!" Nejire cut into their rapid-fire exchange of poisoned words. "You can't just..."

"Then how do you explain the blood on his arm and his testimony filled with holes?" Ochako pressed, her voice softening. "Who- Who else is strong enough and tall enough to have attacked me like that?!"

"..that's it!"

"Huh?" Ochako turned to Hanta. "What?"

"There's one other person who could've attacked her in the kitchen," he said. "It's..."

_>Select someone!<_

_..._

_>Rikidou Satou : It's got to be you!<_

"Rikidou."

"E-Eh? What do you mean, Rikidou attacked me?!" Ochako cried. "That's- That's impossible!" He was the one who died!"

"But it's a possibility," Fumikage cut in. "Rikidou set up Ochako, caused the blackout, and attacked her. She ran away. Then who killed him..?"

"N-No... No, I can't believe he'd..!" Ochako tried to protest, tears welling in her eyes and spilling over, droplets dripping down her flushed cheeks. "He was kind... and gentle... he couldn't have..!"

"But it's something we have to consider." Shouto repeated Fumikage's words. "Other than Mezou, he's certainly tall and built enough to jump you. We have to consider it."

"But... I... _I won't believe it!" _Ochako wailed, her arms wrapped around her chest. The teardrops were still overflowing, slipping down her face, splattering against the railing of her podium. "I WON'T BELIEVE RIKIDOU ATTACKED ME! MEZOU DID! IT HAS TO BE HIM!"

"Ochako, s-seriously, calm down-!" Tamaki called out, but his words were left unheard.

"I-It has to be him! There's clear evidence against Mezou... and there's none against Rikidou! You can't accuse him baselessly!" she cried. "C-Come on! Give me evidence! Give me anything! There's nothing- NOTHING you can give!" She looked between Hanta and Fumikage with wild eyes. "In all of your investigation... th-there was nothing, right? Right?!"

"Well..." _She's asking for evidence against Rikidou... and I have to admit, there's nothing. He may have fought with his killer with the knife, but... there's nothing specifically against an innocent bystander like her._

_Unless... no, that can't be it. _Hanta sighed and shook away the thought, opting to just answer her question instead. "No, but-"

"E-Exactly! It has to be Mezou!" she cut in. She whirled around at the Heavylifter. "You... You killed Rikidou, you lying bastard!" she screamed.

"I didn't! You have to believe me, I don't know what happened!" he retorted, his eyes blazing as he met hers. "You have to stop accusing me! I didn't do anything!"

"Stop. Ochako, please, hear me ou-" Hanta tried to speak but was cut off once more.

"F-Fine! I- I'll argue with you and your baseless arguments, if it'll shut you up!" she yelled. "Come on, give me what sort of lies you've scraped off the ground to defend this murderer!"

"Of course."

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Ochako Uraraka : Hanta Sero_

_Truth Blades: Bloodstains on Floor, Footprints, Paring Knife, Baking Supplies, Monokuma File #1<_

"I'll say it now and I'll say it as many times as it takes for you to listen- Mezou. Shouji. Killed. Rikidou!" Ochako screamed. "What more is there to say?!"

"Well, according to Mezou, he drank the drugged tea after being stood up for an invitation to share a drink in the cafeteria," Hanta recalled. "Mina tested the tea and it was indeed drugged, and I found sleeping pills in the trash can nearby. It's very plausible that he was actually drugged by the killer and set up as a distraction, as he would've slept through the tussle going on across the hall."

"Your claim with the sleeping pills is invalid!" she snapped. "Mezou could've easily set up the drugged tea afterwards and pretended to be asleep when we found him during investigation," Ochako explained. "The bigger issue here is that he mentioned having some notes from someone supposedly inviting him to tea. However, when we asked to see them, they weren't there!"

"How does that even work in your favor?" Hanta asked. "Mezou didn't have the notes. If he'd really been the killer, he wouldn't be so careless as to lose such a crucial piece of evidence that provided an alibi for him."

"Well, even if that were the case, he's still suspicious! Maybe he **came up with that out of a panic** of being found!" Ochako was still holding her ground, despite Hanta's best efforts to push her back.

"Okay, fine then. Now, if Mezou were the killer, how do you think he would move Rikidou's corpse from the kitchen to the hallway?" Hanta decided to tackle the problem at a different angle.

"Well, that's obvious! **Mezou carried him** into the hall!"

_"I will cut through your words!"_

_>Footprints : Cut!<_

"There had been a series of backwards footprints leading out of the kitchen door," Hanta said.

"Backwards footprints?" Ochako tilted her head. "Doesn't that mean the same thing as footprints leading into the kitchen?"

"Yes, but that would not make sense. The footprints had been tracking the white powder and blood, which were both from the kitchen. It'd be impossible for someone to track it inside," Hanta elaborated.

"Anyway, a person carrying something would not walk backwards with it," he continued. " That would make no sense. However, a person dragging something they could not lift into their arms might.

"Mezou is the Ultimate Heavylifter. He would not drag Rikidou's corpse; like you said, he would pick him up. However, this evidence proves that the body was dragged. Also, if Mezou had carried Rikidou, then Mezou's chest would've been smeared with blood as well, not just his left arm."

"He's right," Fumikage suddenly spoke up. "Such a large amount of movement of the body so soon after death, before the blood has fully clotted, would've caused a torrent of bleeding from the wound. Considering those factors, it's safe to assume Mezou is not the murderer here."

"Besides, why would he use a needle as a weapon? It seems so ridiculous," Shouto added. "It's a very risky move, if it were tailored to disguise the culprit, so the risks outweigh the benefits."

Ochako stared, wide-eyed, at the Nightwalker, her gaze flickering from him to Mezou to Hanta to Shouto and back again. Then she let out a sigh, as if she were a balloon that had suddenly deflated.

"I suppose... there's logic in that." Ochako was downcast, her eyes fixed to the floor. "So... that means... Rikidou attacked me..?"

"That seems to be the case, most likely," Mirio admitted bitterly. "There's the possibility he jumped you with the knife, and after you ran, also wielded it against the blackened. We just don't know yet."

"..." Ochako was quiet for a moment to that. "I... I want to believe." Tears were slipping down her pink cheeks, hot and steady and falling to the ground. "I have to believe that Rikidou hadn't attacked me, or that if he did... that it was for a noble reason." She sighed and wiped her face dry. "I'm sorry about that, everyone. But I'll try my best now... for all of you. Even if I have to suspect my friend."

"There's the Ochako we know," Izuku murmured, smiling. "Let's continue, then, if we're done with that."

"We should recap what has happened so far, _kero," _Tsuyu suggested. "Go over the story before we continue."

_>Nonstop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Needle, Fumikage's Autopsy, Monokuma File #1, Footprints, Bloody Towel, Baking Supplies, Ochako's Injuries, Mezou's Account<_

"So, Ochako and Rikidou were in the kitchen when a blackout occurred," Mei began.

"Someone, **either Rikidou or the killer,** jumped Ochako," Eijirou continued. "And she ran away."

"The killer then attacked Rikidou with the needle," Mina said. **"He had the knife,** so they duked it out!"

"Eventually, the killer stabbed Rikidou in the throat and dragged his body into the hallway. After cleaning up the various baking supplies and the knife, they fled," Fumikage finished.

"Now what?" Ochako spoke out. "How do we determine who the killer is, the one who stabbed Rikidou with the needle?"

Kouji clapped to get everyone's attention, having reverted back to sign language outside of rapid debate. _'Maybe we should try looking into some pieces of evidence that we haven't touched on yet,'_ he suggested.

_"I agree with that!"_

_>Baking Supplies : Consent!<_

"Kouji's right," Hanta affirmed. "We should talk about something we haven't yet, like..."

"Ah! Like the baking supplies in the cupboard, right?" Ochako piped up. "How could they be suspicious?"

"Well, the half-empty bag of white powder matches the one that was spil-," Izuku began, only for Fumikage to cut him off.

"Wait. Ochako." The bird-headed boy was staring at her with a deathly sharp stare. "What did you just say?"

Ochako blinked, confused. "Um, I said the baking supplies in the cupboard-"

"How do you know that?"

Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake, and dread settled in the pit of Hanta's stomach. _I knew it.._. "Huh? Wh-What do you mean?"

"You were in the cafeteria the entire time, both before and after Mezou awoke," Shouto spoke up. His voice was cold. "You haven't been in the kitchen since the time you and Rikidou were getting out the supplies. We haven't mentioned this in the trial room yet, and I don't think anyone told you, so how do you know that they wound up in the cupboard?"

"I..." Uncertainty laced her meek voice. "I..!"

"Ochako..." Denki's golden eyes were alight with fear. "Have you been lying to us this entire time? Can we... can we even trust your account of being jumped in a blackout?"

"No... I..!" The Mochi Chef tried to find words, but failed, her tongue twisting itself into a knot.

"Ochako..." Tsuyu was staring at her best friend with wide, jade eyes. "Did you- did you really..?"

Ochako's eyes flickered around the ring, her fear glaringly obvious. "I..."


	8. Chapter 1 : To Survive; Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero - Part 5 - Class Trial

_"I'm not the killer!"_ Ochako screamed, her overly-forceful voice sending a jolt down Hanta's spine.

"But can we really believe that?" Fumikage taunted. "After that slip-up? Do you have anything in your defense? Anything to say for all of the lies you've been feeding us?"

"Anything in my- OF COURSE I HAVE EVIDENCE IN MY DEFENSE!" Ochako's eyes were a manic as a cornered animal'. "I-It's obvious I'm not the killer! How could I be when I got beat up by the killer themself?! I have- I have ample proof on my side! Come on, Hanta, Fumikage! Argue until your throats run dry, because no matter what you say, I'M NOT THE KILLER!

"NOT THE KILLER- NOT THE KILLER- _NOT THE KILLER!"_

Ochako's voice, while spewing such angry words, sounded... fearful. Like she was trying to hide her terror at being in such a situation. Knowing that, Hanta felt a pang of guilt in having to drive her into a corner, killer and avid liar or not.

_She's terrified... _Hanta met her gaze, and instantly realized she was shaking. Behind a mask of raging flame, she was cowering in fear, hands-over-her-head scared out of her mind.

_I don't want to do this... but..._

_For my sake, and for the sake of everyone else... I have to!_

"Come on, Hanta! Bring it!" Ochako challenged with false confidence.

_>Panic Talk Action : Start!<_

{Ochako's Audio Clips <> Hanta's Retorts}

"Why are you suspecting me?" <> "You're the only one who could've done it!"

"Wrong! Wrong!" <> "Logic and evidence says otherwise, Ochako."

"No! I'd never kill!" <> "Can we truly believe that?"

"Stop! Please!" <> "I'm sorry, but I must continue!"

"Do you really think I'm the killer?" <> "There's no other option!"

"I was jumped by the killer!" <> "Can we really believe that lie?"

"Believe me! BELIEVE ME!" <> "I'm sorry, Ochako..."

_>Final Strike!<_

_>W = Bloody_ _   
_ _A = And_ _   
_ _S = State_ _   
_ _D = Beaten<_

"There's no way I'm the killer when I was actually attacked by them!"

_"Here is the proof!"_

_>D-A-W-S : BeatenAndBloodyState : Break!<_

"Ochako. When Izuku found you, you were in a bloody and beaten state. Your clothes were ripped, and there were bleeding cuts all over you," Hanta began.

"Y-Yeah! Because I was attacked!" Ochako retorted, but Hanta could begin to see the terror seeping through onto her expression.

"However, it's likely that you _were _the killer, and those wounds were inflicted on you by Rikidou with the paring knife. The killer was wielding the needle, and your wounds are too deep to have been made by a needle. A blade is more suitable. Why else would the knife had been washed?"

"So, Ochako, killer of Rikidou," Fumikage hissed. "Are you done lying now?"

"I... I...!" Ochako stammered.

"Let's vote, then, now that that's settled!" Mezou suggested, anger boiling in his voice.

"No. We have to go over the case one more time, and get things straight..." Hanta said. "And when we hear the whole story, we'll have a definitive tale of the case. But... with the story Ochako fed us..."

"Consider her word as a lie for now," Fumikage decided. "It's clear that isn't the truth, not when she knows things she shouldn't have if she were innocent."

"Alright then. With that in mind, I'll go over this case one more time," Hanta announced.

_"Here's what happened!"_

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

"A short while after dinner, Mezou went to the cafeteria to meet up with somebody. That somebody was the killer. They had given him a note earlier bearing an invitation for tea in the cafeteria at six. However, unbeknownst to Mezou, this was a trap.

"When Mezou arrived, the killer was not there. Instead, he found a cup of tea and a note stating they had a change of plans and had to cancel, but left some tea for him as an apology. Of course, Mezou began to drink the tea. However, the tea had been drugged. Mezou fell unconscious on the spot after drinking it, having fallen into a deep slumber.

"Just a little while later, probably somewhere around six-forty-five, the killer met with Rikidou in the kitchen, under yet another false invitation to bake with them. Rikidou had unknowingly fallen for their trap.

"After they'd gotten the ingredients for mochi out, the killer attacked him with a most peculiar weapon: a sewing needle. Luckily for Rikidou, he grabbed a nearby paring knife and parried their shot, leaving a scratch on the blade from the sharp-ended weapon.

"The two fought back and forth in the kitchen, the killer attacking with their needle while Rikidou parried their hits and sliced at the offender with his own weapon. During their little scuffle, they managed to knock a bag of white mochi flour -mochiko- onto the floor, causing a spillage.

"Finally, the killer managed to drive the needle deep into Rikidou's throat. A lucky hit, too; it stabbed through his windpipe and swiftly killed him.

"Their deed done, the killer started cleaning up the scene. They washed the paring knife, which had their own blood on it from when Rikidou had cut them, and hastily put the baking supplies away all in the nearest cabinet.

"The killer then further messed with the crime scene by moving Rikidou's body into the hallway. They began dragging him, which left a trail of blood. When they realized, they only had time to securely wipe all of the blood and mochiko from the soles of their shoes with a kitchen rag. The rest was left as evidence.

"Finally, their work complete, the killer entered the cafeteria and rubbed some of their own blood from their wounds onto Mezou's sleeve. Since Mezou was sound asleep on top of one of his arms, the killer could only rub blood on one arm. They also took their notes from him to erase evidence. They likely kept them on them and disposed of them privately.

"To finish up the case, the killer ran away and met Izuku, acting terrified and giving a false story of a blackout, being jumped, and fleeing. However, that isn't the case...

"Isn't that right, Ochako Uraraka? You were the killer all along, weren't you?"

_>Break!<_

_***_

The world was crashing down on her head.

Ochako's eyes flickered from classmate to classmate, friend to friend, fear clashing with anger clashing with sorrow. Her anger had completely drained out of her after Hanta's groundbreaking conclusion, leaving her feeling like a deflated balloon.

Terror was coursing through her veins. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing onto themselves, her heart thrashing to break out of her chest, her stomach twisting into a knot and drowning itself in its own acidic saliva.

_What can I say to defend myself?_

_How could I have made such a horrible slip?_

Just a few mistakes is all she had to make, it seemed, to destroy her intricate web of silky lies.

"As Hanta had stated many times, the evidence is clear. I'm surprised all of you were dense enough to not suspect her from the very start," Fumikage_ tch_ed.

"H-Hey, Fumikage, don't be like that!" Izuku cried. He turned to Ochako. "Ochako, he's got to be wrong, right? There's no way you'd lie, I'm sure! Everything Hanta and Fumikage said had to have been wrong, right? Right?!"

Ochako didn't answer.

There was no way she could tell Izuku that they were right.

"Have any of you ever read a mystery novel? How the murderer always covers up the murder? How they always put up a scheme to blame it on another?" Fumikage shook his head. "She obviously managed to trick all of you, but it seems she wasn't clever enough."

"But- But she had been attacked by the murderer!" Nejire started to jump to Ochako's defense, whose heart ached with guilt, her eyes stinging. "She said that she'd been jumped and ran..." _They trusted me so much..._

"Were you even listening?" Fumikage snapped. Nejire winced at his harsh tone.

"Remember what Hanta had explained to us already. She_ can_ lie, and very well, it seems," Shouto said thoughtfully. "After all, who was the one who so swiftly tried to turn us on Mezou?"

"Hanta's story was rather clear. This case seems to have been solved, at last." Tamaki's fearful eyes were edged with something colder, something darker: anger. "You're the murderer, aren't you?"

His words crashed down on Ochako's ears. She jumped back fearfully.

"I... I'm not... the murderer..." is all she managed to whimper one final time in defense of her now-obvious crime.

"It's all clear, now, isn't it, _kero_?" Tsuyu suddenly said. Ochako turned to face her friend, whose voice was trembling and gaze lowered.

"Ochako. You killed Rikidou, lied to us, and tried to frame Mezou... why?" Tsuyu looked up to meet Ochako's wide brown eyes with teary jade ones. "Why would you do this, _kero_?"

Ochako didn't -_couldn't_\- answer. Tsuyu's pitiful expression was too much for her to bear holding. In that moment, she felt as if someone had thrown her into a frozen lake, as if her lungs were filling with water and her heart was turning to ice.

She had been defeated once again, and there was no redemption this time.

"Well, are we done here?" Shigaraki suddenly asked. Monokuma jumped down and waddled up to his podium when nobody responded.

"If you're all finished with discussion, it's voting time! Please vote by pointing the lever in front of you at the culprit! Be sure to double check and triple check your choice using the panel in front of you!" Monokuma reminded cheerfully.

Ochako stared down at her own lever, which pointed straight up at the ceiling. There was a tiny panel under it on the railing of her podium. As of right now, it was blank. As she shoved it down, it pointed at Katsuki, who was directly across the circle from her. On the little panel, the name_ 'KATSUKI BAKUGOU'_ flashed into existence.

Ochako swallowed a mouthful of bitter spit. Guilt constricted her throat, clouded her thoughts. _It's all my fault. I shouldn't push it on someone else._

She reached forward with a trembling hand and flicked the lever backwards. The name on the panel flickered and changed.

_'OCHAKO URARAKA.' _That was the name on her panel.

She flashed a glance around the circle apprehensively. As her classmates and friends began to figure out how the levers worked, more and more began to point at her, until she felt like she was an intruder on enemy territory and the guards had their guns on her throat.

Even that was more than she deserved, though.

_I deserved this... _Ochako thought sadly. _All my friends, my classmates... for them to turn on me and hate me... that's all I deserve._

_But I did what I had to, right? I'm a hero, aren't I? For the sake of saving people, of saving my family, I did what I had to..._

_So why does it hurt so much?_

Ochako's gaze suddenly met Tsuyu's once again. The frog girl's eyes were teary, her expression one of sorrow, of betrayal. Unable to continue seeing her friend in such despair because of her own actions, Ochako turned, only to find herself caught in Nejire's sad, sky-blue stare. With another pivot, she was ensnared in Izuku's glistening jade gaze.

She kept moving her eyes, unsure of where to look, meeting the horrified, frightened, betrayed, or saddened expressions of her friends -no, _former _friends- at every turn.

_And to think they all trusted me..._

"Are you all done? Time for the results!" Monokuma sang happily. He bounced over to what looked like a casino game. It was a golden slot machine, with the sign _'MONOKUMA VOTE' _standing proudly over the three columns. The columns appeared to have each of the student's faces on each slide.

Monokuma popped a little gold coin into the machine. The lights on the sign began flashing, and the dials began to rotate.

They soon began to slow. Ochako watched with her heart in her stomach as all three columns clicked into a solid row.

All three images were of her face.

The machine began to spit out a torrent of more golden coins with Monokuma's face engraved in them. The sign that said_ 'GUILTY' _underneath the dials began flashing all-too cheerfully.

_>Class Trial : End!<_

"You were correct! Ochako Uraraka is guilty!" Monokuma cheered as the music faded. "Hooray!"

"That settles it," Mina murmured. She stared at Ochako with a frown on her face. "Why? Why would you kill him? And why forge such a lie for us?"

Tears were threatening to bubble over her eyes as Ochako met her gaze. She managed to drag up her voice. "I... I had to... My family..." She flinched at the thought, curling her arms around her chest and coiling inwards on herself in a pitiful, defensive position.

"Was it the DVDs?" Tsuyu asked, her voice a mixture of sadness and worry. Ochako nodded, averting her gaze. Her friend's agonized expression was too much for her to bear.

"I saw my mother and my father. Chained, imprisoned... I couldn't bear it. Everything in my life up to this point, I'd done it in the intention of making their lives easier, better... " Ochako began to tremble. "I'm so sorry... I had to do it."

A beat of stunned silence. Then-

"But to go so far as to fight and kill... Why?" Nejire's voice trembled, her tone soft and broken.

_It's all my fault._

"I didn't want to, I swear... I was terrified, but I had to, in order to save them... I'm sorry..."

_It's all my fault._

"To fall into despair and do as Monokuma wanted- I've failed, haven't I?" Ochako's voice was nothing but a murmur as tears streamed down her face. "I'll never be a true hero, won't I?"

"I-It's alright!" Izuku stammered, coming out of his initial shock. "You'll be a hero! You- you were always a hero!"

A day ago, Ochako would've believed him. A month ago, absolutely. But now, she wasn't quite so sure of his words.

"Well, are we done with the sentiments?" Monokuma interrupted her train of thought. "If so, it's Punishment Time!"

Ochako's heart nearly jerked to a premature stop as his words hung in the air over her like a storm cloud. Then, as their meaning began sinking into her, panic started to flood her veins, constricting her throat and turning her stomach into a puddle of acidic sludge. "Punishment... Time?"

"W-Wait a minute!" Izuku and Nejire both called out in near-perfect sync. "You can't just kill her!" the latter wailed.

"Sorry! Rules are rules!" Monokuma grinned in a crooked, unapologetic way. "She disturbed the peace, and will receive the fair penalty!

"Now, I have prepared a very special punishment for Ochako Uraraka, the Ultimate Mochi Chef! Let's give it everything we've got! It's... PUNISHMENT TIME!"

_>GAME OVER_

_Ochako Uraraka has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

Ochako suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Her mind began to become too clouded with panic for her to even consider an escape route. Her eyes flickered from classmate to classmate, the sound of her breathing becoming louder and louder to her ears.

"G-Guys... I'm sorr-"

A cold metal chain suddenly wrapped around her neck. Her last words were violently cut off as it jerked backwards, taking her down with it as she was dragged out of the trial room, down a tunnel leading out the other side at a rather violent speed. She could see flashes of her classmates' horrified expressions as they were replaced with fear.

"Ochako! _Kero_!" Tsuyu cried, leaping out and chasing Ochako down the tunnel, though to no avail, since the speed at which Monokuma was dragging her was faster than any rate the jadette could run, leap, or bounce, even if she still had her quirk.

Ochako tried to call out to her best friend, to tell her not to follow her, but the chains around her neck prevented her from making a sound. Not even her constant tugging of them made their metal constraints budge as they pressed against her throat, gagging her.

Suddenly, the bumpy ground beneath her turned into cold, smooth tile. Ochako watched as a large chain-link gate blocked the passage she'd come from, just meters away from her toes. Monokuma slowed down, and she was hauled to a stake in the middle of the massive fenced area.

The execution room was easily the size of several tennis courts side by side. Had she been a bystander and not the one being executed, Ochako would've wondered what kind of executions required this amount of space. In the moment, though, jolts of despairful terror were making their way through Ochako, and it took all her self-control not to vomit, cry, scream, or do all three.

Beyond the chain-link gate, the remaining 21 students had gathered and were now watching her. Most were staring at the ground, or at her in a frozen state of terror, or at Monokuma, who was swiftly tying Ochako to the stake.

Some, however, were rattling the gate, calling out to her.

It was those voices that would echo in her head as her final thoughts.

"Ochako!" Tsuyu sobbed. Through her blurry eyes, Ochako could tell she was crying. "Ochako, I love you! You were... you were the most important person in my life!"

"They say that as long as a person is remembered, they'd be alive," Nejire cried, tears dripping down her face. She was subdued and merely pressing against the chain-link with her hands. In her shadow, Tamaki and Mirio watched her with sad expressions.

"You'll be immortal, Ochako!" she continued. "When we get out of here, I'll- we'll- _I'll_ tell the world about you! You'll live forever! You're loved, everyone loves you!"

"Ochako... Ochako, you were a hero... you were always a hero! You forever will be!" Izuku was crying a river, which was quite expected. "I love you!"

Izuku's words sent a jolt down Ochako's spine. For a moment, her mind cleared, with his words blissfully ringing in her ears, before all the terror that accompanied death gave racing back, sending a heavy pounding up into her ears and skull.

Ochako's gaze drifted down to the chains binding her to the stake. Her arms were pressed to her sides, her fingertips brushing her shoulders. A flash of the thought of escape briefed through her mind when a beeping sound suddenly echoed through the chamber. Her classmates fell silent at once, their eyes fixating on something above Ochako.

Slowly, Ochako looked up to see three gun barrels pointing down at her from their mounted points on the wall in front and above her. Two were in the corners and one was in the middle, between them.

Suddenly, Monokuma jumped out from behind Ochako, her chains apparently successfully fastened. He ran up to stand with his back to the chain link fence, next to the gate so everyone still had full view of the execution room. He whipped out a small metal remote bearing a hot pink button. He pressed the button, grinning maniacally.

_>Ochako Uraraka's Execution: 1,000 Needles of Gungnir : Executed!<_

The guns began firing needles at Ochako, showering her with tiny silver pricks. At first, they met her skin and clothes softly and unevenly; some just hit her arm and fell to the floor below her. _Maybe I can survive this, _she thought, her hope like a light at the end of a shady tunnel.

As soon as she thought that, though, the needles began coming down faster and harder. The guns shuffled from side to side on their conveyor belt on the ceiling, causing rows of needles to impale Ochako's skin on her shoulders, arms, collar, stomach, legs, and sides.

Pain erupted like blistering flares from the impalement points as the number of needles multiplied. Ochako gritted her teeth in an attempt to distract herself from the throbbing, white-hot pain, but to no avail. In fact, the movement only made it worse. Blood began to blossom from her wounds, slowly soaking Ochako's jacket magenta.

She screamed out in pain as the guns started whirling even faster. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, as if flames were dancing under her skin, incinerating her until her nerves were burned away and she were slowly being reduced to a cinder.

Her body throbbed with agony. It was like getting a shot at the doctor's, but multiplied by a thousand, and there were syringes being inserted all over her body. It was numbing, but so painfully fiery, with no end in sight and no relief or breath.

Through the murk of panic at the front of her mind, Ochako could only form one conceivable thought.

_I suppose I deserved this._

Tears bubbled down her face as her chest constricted. She could feel the blood dripping from her body, her life seeping out, drenching her clothes, trickling to the floor...

_I brought this upon myself, didn't I?_

_It was my fault. My selfishness, my stupidity... all for what? To save my family... But what hero would end someone's life for the sake of saving another?_

The world was starting to dull around her.

_And I once thought I was to live past twenty... All those dreams cut short because of my stupid mistake..._

_One mistake..._

_Funny how they said mistakes are a part of life. Funny how they said that one mistake doesn't define you._

_Funny how they were wrong._

Ochako's breath hitched, tears rolling down her cheeks. The pain was starting to numb. All sound was starting to fade around her. All she could feel now was the cold dampness of her own blood soaking through her clothes, the frozen tips of hundreds of needles impaled in rings around and around her body.

She had become a living pincushion, but not for long.

Through the magenta clouds floating around her eyes, Ochako thought that the shower of needles had stopped. She could now see Tsuyu rattling the chain-link gate, her mouth opening and closing. She might've been screaming, or speaking, but Ochako couldn't tell. She could also dimly make out the shapes of Nejire and Izuku next to her, but their expressions were unreadable.

The silence was deafening, the cold dripping from her body until only a sliver of life remained, her heart fluttering like a drowning bird. _Izuku always said I had a strong heart..._

The world was tipping, it seemed. Ochako's vision was flickering. She felt her heart finally trip and stutter, and for a moment, she thought it was over.

But the darkness merely began to submerge her, swallowing her slowly, relishing in her despair as she sank deeper and deeper.

_Despair._

_That's what made me do what I did, right?_

_I gave in to despair..._

_Tsu, Izuku, Nejire..._

_I hope you knew I loved you..._

_But Izuku... you, of all, truly were my hope._

_My last hope... how did I forget you, in my darkest minutes?_

The shadows were spreading, her body freezing, the cold depths of death wrapping its slimy tendrils around her.

_"Ochako, I love you...!"_

_"You'll be immortal... you're loved, everyone loves you..!"_

_"You were always a hero... I love you..!"_

Her most beloved friends' words echoed in Ochako's head. They kept repeating, over and over, their familiar voices growing fainter as she slipped away.

_"I love you... immortal... hero... I love you... immortal... hero..._

_"I love you, immortal hero..."_

Those words were the last thing Ochako remembered when it all cut off.

***

"Ochako! Ochako!"

Tsuyu's voice ripped through the deadly still air like a knife through flesh. Her emotions spilled onto the floor like blood from a wound, drowning herself, sinking everyone else into it like quicksand.

She screamed her friend's name -the friend she'd always held closest to her heart, the person she loved most dearly without reciprocation. Her hands wrapped around the metal rods of the fence, rattling the chain-link gate. Tears ran down her face. Her heart was beating at a speed she hadn't realized hearts could reach.

Her friend, her most beloved best friend, Ochako Uraraka, the hero Uravity... was dead.

She looked terrible. Her body hung limply on the stake, the chains keeping her in the same position. Her head lolled unnaturally, her chin brushing her shoulder and dipping, her eyelids having drooped shut. Rows upon rows of needles were impaled all over her body, the pink blood coating their silver lengths and dripping, running, pouring from her wounds, painting her clothes fuchsia and slowly dripping to the ground, giving her the impression of a soaked cat drenched in blood.

Monokuma strolled out and opened the gate, letting himself out of the execution chamber. "Well, that sure was neat!"

"That's all you can say for your horrible execution?" Tamaki asked softly, his voice trembling.

"Hey, it could've been worse!" Monokuma gave a toothy grin. "Now, let's get back up to the school! This'll take a bit to clean up, but let's leave that to the League, shall we?"

Tsuyu couldn't move. She felt rooted to the spot, her hands locked around the chain link, eyes glued to the brunette's dead body as tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground below.

_Ochako..._

_How much suffering did she go through?_

_The agony of a thousand needles... how much pain did she go through, only to achieve the cold, eternal darkness of death?_

Tsuyu ripped her eyes from the terrible sight and pressed her forehead to the cold fence, her eyes squeezed shut. Her breath hitched and she tried not to sob aloud.

"Tsu." She heard a voice beside her and a cold hand brushing over her shoulder. She looked up and realized it was just Fumikage.

"Come on. It's better if we don't gaze upon the scene of the death too long." He began to lead her away, but stopped when he felt Tsuyu stiffen under his touch.

"H-how are you s-so calm about this, _kero_?" Tsuyu croaked weakly, trying to suppress her cries.

Fumikage's eyes widened in surprise, for the briefest moment, before he dipped his head. "It takes practice," he replied slowly. "To see the limp bodies, the river of blood... it's difficult, I know."

After such a response, Tsuyu wasn't sure whether to be sad, suspicious, or angry. She didn't speak, but let him lead her away.

As they tailed the silent group down the hallway back to the courtroom, Fumikage suddenly spoke up.

"Tsu." She looked up at him. He was facing away from her.

"Remember, you can't cling onto all of our friends' deaths. If you did, you'd drown in grief and fall into despair. We can't do what the villains want us to do, and fall into their trap." He turned to scrutinize her with dark, crimson eyes. "Do you understand?"

For a moment, Tsuyu was silent, contemplating Fumikage's emotionless words. Then-

"No."

Fumikage's eyes widened. He had clearly not been expecting such a response. "Hm?"

"No, I won't let go of their deaths... I can't forget. How they gave in to despair, how they tried to play the villains' game and escape- I'll hold onto them! It's like Nejire said..." Tsuyu's voice trembled. "Tenya, Rikidou, Ochako... as long as we remember them, they'll live on! We'll escape with them. We're Class One-A! We'll make it out together..!"

Fumikage froze as her words trailed off. Then he let out a soft sigh. "Alright. Do as you wish. Just don't forget what I told you."

As he walked ahead, Tsuyu paused, for a moment, thinking she could see a flicker of pink at the edge of her vision. But when she turned, there was nothing.

_I guess it's just my mind making me see things..._

"Tsu. Come on, everyone's leaving," Fumikage called over his shoulder. She shook herself off and continued walking, focusing on the Nightwalker's back and counting the thread stitches instead, to keep her mind from wandering.

The class spilled into the courtroom, everyone except the two still in a stunned silence. Monokuma jumped up to the throne, which was now empty. _Shigaraki most likely was watching the execution, _Tsuyu thought with a pang. Tears threatened to spill over her eyes once again at the thought of the death.

"Well, that sure was fun!" The black and white rodent chirped. "Now that we're finished with that whole ordeal, class dismissed!"

"Hold up," Katsuki snarled. "You bastard. You just murdered her in cold blood. How are you so casual about this death shit? You don't give a fuck, do you? _DO YOU?"_

He suddenly lunged at the bear on the throne. "I'll kill you!"

"Katsuki, no!" Tsuyu jumped in surprise as Tamaki leaped to grab Katsuki's arms. With a swift twist he managed to pin the spiky blonde face-down on the floor.

"Do you not remember what happened to Tenya?" He hissed. Katsuki's eyes widened ever so slightly, as if realizing what would've happened to him, had Tamaki not stopped him.

"Get off of me, Chicken Face," the blonde snarled, but returned grudgingly to his podium when Tamaki released him.

"Phew, you almost had me there! I'm sweating! Wouldn't want a relapse of Tenya's unnecessary loss, would we?!" Monokuma didn't look the least bit remorseful as he giggled. "Now, shoo!"

The group silently filed back onto the elevator. Tsuyu stood against one of the walls, her shoulder brushing Fumikage's arm as they ascended. Through the heads of her classmates, she could see Nejire staring blankly at her feet, her eyes so distant, it was hard to realize she was still the same person.

_But then again, are any of us really the same after such a case?_

The reality of it all hit her like a bulldozer once more.

_To fall into despair, and kill a classmate to escape..._

_It's happening._

_But will it happen again? Or will we have enough hope to survive?_

_I trust these people... but how should I know how they feel?_

_For all I know, this may just be the beginning of it all._

_>Chapter 1 : Rise Up, Star-Touched Hero! : The End | Surviving Students : 21 | To be Continued<_

_>Item obtained: Used Sewing Kit<_


	9. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 1 - Daily Life

_Nejire was in the abyss._

_At the end of the tunnel, a pool of pink was spreading towards her. She stood, paralyzed, as images began to flicker into existence on the surface of the blood, reflections of things that weren't there._

_Rikidou's dead body, a needle driven through his throat... Ochako, screaming as she was dragged away... Ochako, tied to a stake..._

_Ochako's dead body covered in needles._

_The blood was rising, dragging Nejire down. She screamed, but no sound came out. Blood began seeping into her nose and mouth, the metallic taste in her throat and tongue, hot and vomit-inducing, filling her lungs, drowning her..._

Nejire awoke in cold sweat, ensnared in her silky blankets. Breath heavy, she tugged them off of her coiled body and glanced nervously around her room. The too-many mirrors were reflecting the light of her small night-light, creating the illusion of spirits dancing by the walls.

It was still night-time, the very evening of the trial day. The room was empty. There was no wave of blood, nor any dead bodies. Despite that, various thoughts began to crowd Nejire's mind against her will.

_Ochako's smile, back when they were still heroes, when she had just captured a villain with Nejire and Tsuyu._

_Ochako's determined frown, as she kicked down and pinned villains during the attack on the U.A. dorms._

_Ochako's defiant yells, fighting even after she was shot, all the way until she fainted from overexertion._

_Ochako's fearful expression, having just been shown the videos, her despair -in hindsight- blatantly obvious after Tenya's death._

_Ochako's pure terror, as she was exposed during the trial._

_Ochako. Ochako. Ochako._

Nejire clutched her head in her hands, gripping clumps of her silky blue hair in her hands.

_How could I have not noticed? Her despair, her mental state, her fear, all of it..._

_I could have prevented it. All of it..!_

_I'm a horrible person. A terrible friend._

Nejire began to cry, burying her face in her sheets, curling into a ball.

_You pathetic girl,_ she thought to herself. _Nejire, you pathetic, pathetic girl... Now you're just letting everyone down. Aren't you supposed to be the sky of The Big Three? The soft clouds, the playful stars, the happiest little innocent to brighten up the darkest nights?_

_No, scratch that, I'm not even a raindrop now... An innocent? The stars to light a way for all the lost wanderers? Forget it, I couldn't even light one person's way when they needed it most... ha..._

_And now I'm falling into the same trap she died to show us- despair. Am I making her death simply meaningless?_

_I'm just horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible._

***

Izuku tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep. His mind was in turmoil, thoughts spilling out one after another, banging against his skull against his will.

_Ochako, killer._

A limp body dripping blood.

_Rikidou, victim._

A white outfit stained magenta.

_Tenya, example._

The first death, a body impaled by spears.

_Killer. Victim. Example._

_She turned on her own classmate, our classmate, her friend. For what, freedom? For the sake of her family, at the cost of her class?_

_He died as a mere example of the villains' cruelty and dominance. An example? To live such a life, and die as a mere tutorial to the horrors beyond, in this game of death?_

_Ochako... Tenya... _

_I miss you so much..._

_How could you die before me?_

_Why did you both have to be the first to go?_

_..._

_Somebody save me... I don't... I can't understand any of this..._

Izuku let out a despair-filled sob into his pillow, a plea for help nobody heard.

"I can't take this..." he muttered into the darkness. "Need to... talk to someone..."

He got up and slipped into the lobby before cautiously tip-toeing into the hallway, a blanket draped over his shoulders. Sweat dampened his back as he crept down the stairs in search of his friend's dorm. _Why do we have to live a floor away?_

Izuku swiftly found classroom 1-B, his heart in his throat. He entered the common area- the single light on the ceiling was unable to reach the darker corners of the room. Unnerved by the shadows, Izuku swiftly rapped on Shouto's door.

_Is he even awake? Would he find it odd for me to be knocking on his door the night of a trial, so soon after a murder? Would he be suspicious of me?_

_If he were, I don't think I'd be able to take it anymore..._

"Who is it?" Shouto's muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door. His tone was icy, edged with suspicion, causing Izuku's mood to dip sadly.

"Sh-Shouto... it's me, Izuku..."

A heartbeat of dead silence. Then the door opened a crack.

"Izuku? What is it?" Shouto slowly pushed open the door, his silver and blue eyes flickering in paranoia behind the jadette's small form.

"I... I needed someone to talk to. Couldn't sleep." Izuku shuffled his feet nervously, his heartbeat thudding in his chest. "Can I come in?"

Shouto paused, his flickering eyes betraying his hesitation. However, he opened the door to let Izuku in.

"What's wrong?" Shouto asked as he closed the door. In the darkness, his mismatched eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly, like the last embers of a dead fire. Behind him, by his desk, there was a large whiteboard mounted on the wall. There were many papers stuck to it with magnets, and various notes were scrawled around them- _Theorist's equipment._ Izuku dragged his eyes away from it.

"Um- It's nothing-" Now that he was actually in Shouto's room, awkwardly facing his friend, he wasn't sure what to say.

"Come on, Izuku. You must've come here for something," Shouto insisted.

Izuku blinked. "Um... it's just- I had a lot on my mind and wanted to tell someone..."

"It's okay. You can tell me anything," Shouto said, his voice softening. He leaned forward and placed his left hand on Izuku's shoulder. _So warm..._

"Um... alright." Izuku took a deep breath. "I'm...

"I'm just... confused. Weren't all of us friends? Weren't we Class One-A? And yet, Ochako- how could sweet, strong Ochako be a killer?" He soon devolved into barely coherent mumbling. "To shed blood for a chance at freedom, before being executed herself? I don't believe it. And now, to think I'll never see her again- that she's gone and dead and will never be a hero- why? Why her? She, of all, deserved to live on and become one, to save people and help her family-" Izuku's rant stammered to a halt. "Shouto?"

"Hm?" Shouto's eyes were alert as he gazed down at Izuku. To see such trust in his friend's eyes, Izuku felt safe, for the first time since the Body Discovery Announcement.

"How do you feel about all this? First we're captured, then our families and friends taken hostage, then Tenya- and now... Ochako-" Izuku's voice broke as his brain kicked into life and visions of magenta darted through his mind's eye.

Shouto was silent for a moment. He let out a sigh.

"If I had to be honest, it's... certainly shocking," he said slowly. "I certainly hadn't expected Ochako to have the capabilities as a murderer. And Rikidou... for her to target him had been alarming, considering their difference in size. I couldn't help but wonder, after the trial... what if Rikidou had fought back? How could our story have changed then? I-"

A soft knock at the door. Shouto halted mid-word, his eyes widening. A jolt of terror flew through Izuku's heart. _What- who had heard us? No... no, I don't want to-_

"Shouto? Who are you speaking to?"

Izuku relaxed as he recognized Yuga's hesitant voice. Shouto, on the other hand, was less than relieved.

"Nobody. What are you doing up at this hour?" He asked coldly to the locked door, and in turn the teen apparently standing behind it.

"Yuga!" Izuku suddenly blurted out. Shouto's head snapped towards him, his eyes gleaming with panic, but Izuku continued to call out. After all, Yuga was his friend. He trusted him. As the jadette met the taller's gaze, Shouto reluctantly sighed and nodded ever so slightly- consent.

"Yuga, come in," Izuku continued, walking over to the door. He clicked it open and let the blonde inside. Shouto didn't speak, instead observing Yuga with a sharp eye, still hesitant about the intrusion.

"I heard talking through the wall," Yuga explained. His gaze flickered from Izuku to Shouto and back again. "So I decided to come in and... see what was going on."

"We were just discussing our... _predicament,"_ Shouto said simply. "It seemed talking it out would help us relieve some stress."

"I'd like that," Yuga noted softly.

The three wasted the night away, talking about both meaningful and unimportant things alike, in an attempt to get their minds off of the horror they were living in. It all hung heavy in Izuku's heart; his own confusion, Shouto's oddly calm, paranoid edge, Yuga's fear... where did it all come from?

Despair? Fear? Misguided grief?

Whatever it was, Izuku hated it. He hated it so much.

***

Tsuyu was awoken by the ringing of a bell.

She listened to Monokuma's voice broadcast over the speakers as he made the morning announcement, none of the words really processing through the haze around her head.

As the TV clicked into darkness, Tsuyu groaned and rolled out of bed, slipping on her room slippers and entering the bathroom to wash up. After she brushed her teeth and had a shower, the frog girl found herself pacing in the middle of her plain room with its blue walls and cutesy stationary on the desk. Her restless energy bubbled up under her skin like fire.

"I can't take this... _kero...."_ she muttered. She dragged her feet to the door, changed her shoes, and plodded down the hall.

The gray haze seemed to have swallowed the entire school. Tsuyu's steps were heavy as she trudged down the stairs and entered the kitchen. _Nobody's here,_ she observed dully as she approached the fridge. _Probably all in their own rooms._

"I can't exactly blame them, though," Tsuyu muttered to herself as she pulled out a small cup of yogurt. "After what happened yesterday..."

_No, don't think about it,_ she swiftly chided herself. The pain was still too real, the death too imminent. She couldn't -no, _wouldn't-_ think about it. _I have to focus on the future._

_The future... it's brighter than the present, it has to be. Yes, the future._

_We'll figure out a way to get out, escape, and host Tenya, Rikidou, and Ochako's funerals... then we'll figure out how to continue hero work and get rid of the League forever. I can see it... I have to see it, I have to believe it's there and within my- our- reach._

A small smile slipped over Tsuyu's lips as she sat atop the kitchen island, eating her breakfast. She was alone in that kitchen, but for some reason... she felt like the bloodied apparitions of her fallen friends were all around her, bearing down on her, filling the air with their filthy impurity, keeping her wicked company.

There was Tenya, with blood bubbling out his body from countless puncture wounds. He hovered by her side, his bloodied, cracked lips moving but not making a sound. And Rikidou, the hole in his neck weeping pink liquid. He was still as a statue, standing behind her, his touch cold as his hands rested on her shoulders.

And Ochako, her dear Ochako... she was covered in blood, her eyes hollow and gray, her hair a mess and streaked with dust and blood. She was smiling, despite the magenta fluid spilling over her lips and running down her chin. She was pretty, in a haunting, hollow sort of way.

_We must have hope. Hope... it'll defeat despair in the end, I know it._

_Our Ultimate Hopes, Izuku and Mirio; when they get better, they'll show us a way out, our light at the end of the tunnel._

_If they don't step up, even I would do it._

Tsuyu threw out her empty cup and swiftly washed her spoon, her fingers having found a new sort of strength. The spirits were gone now, retreating to their cage in her head. She continued to mindlessly pace the school.

"Hope..." she toyed with the word on her tongue. It tasted sweet, it tasted right...

_Oh, Ochako, Tenya, Rikidou... we'll honor your deaths and your wishes._

_We'll get out, we'll become heroes, and we'll defeat the villains._

_After all, it's just like Tenya said._

_We're Class 1-A. We can do anything._

"We just have to have hope."


	10. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 2 - Daily Life

Tamaki tensed as he heard a knock at his door.

It had been three days since the trial, and he'd yet to see a single person except for Mirio and Nejire. The class seemed to have made a silent pact to avoid each other as much as possible, out of fear and grief. He didn't mind that too much. It was nice to be able to stay in his room and its many potted blossoms all day, or to eat with Mirio and Nejire in one of their dorms and talk about hope and despair and other mind-induced concepts.

Today, however, something appeared to have changed.

Tamaki approached the entryway with caution. If it'd been Mirio or Nejire, they would've said something upon knocking to confirm their presence. As he opened the door, however, nobody was there.

Confused and slightly off-put by such a disturbance, he recoiled back into his room, only to see the note slipped under the door. It was a small piece of notebook paper, hastily torn from its rings. When he picked it up, Tamaki instantly recognized Mirio's scrawl.

_'Meet in the cafeteria ASAP for group meeting!_

_Mirio ♡'_

Tamaki considered the offer. For one, a sudden group meeting might ensue with violence, lest anybody decides to suspect another and start a fight. Tensions were high, so it was a major risk to gather all the remaining 21 extremely emotional and likely traumatized kids in one enclosed space.

On the other hand, Tamaki was absolutely certain that the note did, in fact, come from Mirio. The two had never explicitly told anybody except Nejire that they were together, so the addition of the heart was a personal touch. It was a very _Mirio_ thing to do, Tamaki realized with a pang of warmth, adding the little heart next to the signature. Besides, Tamaki refused to believe anybody could forge Mirio's handwriting and signature quite so well. He'd know that trademark bouncy, messy scrawl anywhere.

Tamaki trusted Mirio with every centimeter of his soul. He was the sun, a beacon of hope to light the way for the others. If he were going to try and bring the class back together, his efforts may pay off for the better in the long run.

But just to be sure, Tamaki swiftly tucked the note in his pocket and headed straight for Nejire's room. Upon rapping on her door and calling her name, the blue-haired girl bounded out of her room.

"Huh? Tamaki?" Nejire eyed him up and down with dull blue irises. "What's wrong? Do you not feel well? Are you worried? Sick? Anxious? Or did you get a note?" 

"I'm fine," he replied quickly, cutting off Nejire's overwhelming spew of questions. "I just have to go to the group meeting. You got that note, too? From Mirio?"

Confusion spilled across Nejire's face. "From _Mirio?_ I got one from Tsu... it said to go to the cafeteria for a group meeting. I bet it's the same meeting, though."

Tamaki let out a sigh. "Good. I just wanted to see if we were all on the same boat. Come on then, we should get going."

Tamaki and Nejire made their way down to the cafeteria. They didn't run into anyone on the way there, but once they arrived it was clear they weren't early. At one secluded table in the corner of the room, Izuku, Shouto, and Yuga settled together. Behind the half-wall, Mezou sat alone with his arms crossed. Fumikage hovered a couple meters away, occasionally eyeing the Ultimate Heavylifter.

Tsuyu and Mirio stood together at the head of the long table. Katsuki, Hanta, Mina, Eijirou, and Denki sat at the opposite end, crowding together for a sense of security. Tamaki and Nejire sidled up next to their friends. Tsuyu murmured an offhanded greeting, while Mirio nodded in acknowledgement. He glanced around the room, his sapphire eyes alight with worry.

"A lot of people are still missing," Nejire pointed out. Tsuyu nodded worriedly.

"However, we only just gave out the notes. Maybe they'll show up soon," the Swimmer murmured.

"I can always go get them if they don't show up," Nejire offered. Tsuyu didn't respond, as if she were silently musing the risks of heading off alone to get a hostile classmate.

However, after around ten minutes, everyone was haphazardly arranged around the cafeteria. Tamaki's eyes darted around the room, worry eating away at his heart and making his head spin as he noted the obvious division between the students.

Yaomomo, Kyouka, Mei, Kouji, and Tooru sat together. Mashirao and Hitoshi lurked in one corner. It was obvious that everybody stuck only with their closest friends and were trying to avoid the others, as if they were serial killers who massacred anybody within two meters of them.

"H-Hey, guys," Tsuyu ribbited, the obvious split through the class obviously having unnerved her.

"Everybody, get over here, where you can hear me!" Mirio called out, making up for her lack of strength.

The students slowly got up and individually shuffled over. They managed to form a ragged crowd. Suspicious, cold looks were exchanged.

"Now, I know it's been a difficult past couple of days for all of us," Mirio began. "And I know it's easy to want to avoid and be suspicious of each other! But we can't be like this! Look at all of you!" He swept his hand across the huddle. "Weren't you all once friends? Comrades? Classmates?"

"Things can change," Mezou said, his voice edged with rigid ice. Being Ochako's target as a false suspect had obviously shaken him, as Tamaki never recalled the guy being nasty or snappy before the trial. "Things can happen, and people change. Why must be remain friends?"

"Because we can get out of here, if only we had hope and stuck together," Mirio retorted. "Have some faith in each other, in yourselves! Have some hope! Right now, what would the dead say if they saw you like this? What would Tenya want? What would Rikidou like to see? Ochako? She'd fallen into despair and made a mistake that cost her two lives. Would you like to replay of that?" 

There was a blistering blue fire in Mirio's eyes, a spark of determination, a glimmer of hope. It was contagious, warming Tamaki's heart and calming his nerves, if only for a moment.

"If we stick together, if we have hope, we can do anything!" Tsuyu continued. "We can work together and escape! Save our families and friends, save everyone, defeat the villains; anything. Just as long as we get over this obstacle, this stage of our lives. Have hope, and we can do it!"

"That is all!" Mirio flashed a smile and a thumbs-up to the class. "Class dismissed!"

A murmur spread over the class. Students looked at each other thoughtfully. But as they began to disperse once more, Tamaki's heart fell. The division of the class was still obvious.

Nejire stayed with him, Mirio, and Tsuyu. The rest of the girls, minus Mina, went off together. The Bakusquad kept to their huddle, although Denki seemed more hesitant to remain hooked to them. Mashirao, Hitoshi, Kouji, Izuku, and Shouto joined together. Fumikage and Mezou both kept to themselves and parted ways, alone.

The meeting had relieved some of the tension, but not all of it.

Mirio sighed. "I wouldn't have expected them to just go back to their old ways after one meeting. But it'll work. We just have to keep it up, right, Tsuyu?" He regarded the frog girl, and they began discussing their new hope-inducing project.

Tamaki glanced over at Nejire. She wore a smile, but there was something different about her eyes. They seemed... sad. They didn't mirror her smile; her smile was bright. Her cerulean gaze was like shattered glass reflecting light. It was broken, deep with unspoken emotion, darkness behind a deception of stars. On a whim, Tamaki murmured, "Hey, Nejire. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Nejire turned to look up at him. Her mouth twisted into a small O, her posture upbeat. But her eyes maintained a cloudy haze. "What do you mean? I'm all good!"

"Mmh," Tamaki mumbled before turning away. She was hiding something, the Florist knew that much. But he also trusted her enough to not do anything rash, especially after her friend's death. 

However, even if she wasn't going to do anything to the others, that didn't prevent him from worrying.

_I'll talk to her, another time, when she's more ready to spill._

***

Mezou strolled down the silent halls, his footsteps the only sound for what felt like miles. He was practically fuming as he made his way towards the gym entrance.

_Hope? Faith? Trust? What a load of bullshit._

_How could I possibly trust any of those hope-induced fools after that case?_

_Ochako, that cold-blooded imbecile, framing me? Why me? Did she think I was weak? Gullible? The most innocent?_

_Hmmph. Weak._

_I'm not weak, I'm not weak, I'm not..._

"I'm not weak..." Mezou snarled through gritted teeth. "I'm not weak, not weak..."

He stomped across the gym, towards the dumbbell stand. He picked up a hundred-kilo and smashed it into the floor. It landed with a heavy _CRUNCH_ as it broke the floorboard and left a massive dent.

"I'll prove that much to them," Mezou muttered. "To train until nobody can touch me, much less _frame_ me... yes. That's my goal..."

Losing himself in the work, the Heavylifter trained until the late afternoon. As he was leaving, he was so tired his arms felt like noodles.

Preoccupied in his exhaustion, of course Mezou failed to notice the flash of movement behind the vent cover on the far wall.


	11. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 3 - Daily Life

"So, what do you think about all this?" Mina suddenly asked in a pause between the constant clanging of Mei's tools.

Yaomomo shuddered. "It's startling, to say the least," she murmured.

The girls were hanging out in the Support Lab to accompany Mei, who was tinkering on some odd thing or another to occupy herself. They talked about random nothings to pass time and explored the Lab in an attempt to grasp a flare of inspiration for an escape. So far, it was to no avail.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy, isn't it? One day we were taking classes here at U.A., and the next this place is taken over by villains, and then people started dying, all in, like, a week! Life is weird, isn't it?" Tooru was running words out her mouth, her eyes manic and her hair slightly mussed due to her repeatedly running her fingers through it.

"I just lock myself in the Lab," Mei called from her place at a worktable. Looking up, Yaomomo glimpsed an odd, boxy metal contraption before her. The pink haired girl herself didn't even flash a glance to the other girls, though.

"Come on, guys," Tsuyu spoke up. "We can't just give up! We have to stick together! If we all just have a little bit of hope, we'll get out of here."

"I agree!" Nejire said brightly, her voice a little too loud. "You guys were an amazing class, y'know? Working as a team here is essential!"

"You've got a good point," Mina murmured. "We were a great team..."

"Yeah," Kyouka mumbled. "To be honest, though, everything's just so _sudden._ We were all just thrown into this, then Tenya just... died... and now this. The trial, the execution, it's all so... surreal. I feel like I'm lost in a dream or something, except it's not a dream, and everything is actually reality. It's disorientating, y'know?"

"Hey, Kyouka," Yaomomo leaned over, her voice softening as she attempted to comfort her friend. "I'm confused, too. We're all confused. But we'll figure it out, alright? It'll be fine, I promise. We're going to get out of this mess together. Just stick with us, okay?"

Kyouka stared back at her for a moment before a small smile slipped onto her face. "Yeah. Thanks, Yaomomo."

The girls continued to chatter for a while before Nejire suggested that they take a break. She wanted to train a little in the gym, and Tsuyu and Mina followed her. Tooru went off on her own to find Mashirao, and Yaomomo insisted that Mei also take a break. The two of them and Kyouka headed down to the kitchen to get a cup of tea.

"You know, Kyouka, you're right. Sometimes it all does get a little too surreal," Yaomomo commented as she poured the tea. It wasn't anything special; just green tea with teabags. However, in such complicated times, Yaomomo enjoyed the simplicity of the drink.

"Yeah. Unwinding like this _is_ nice," Mei admitted. "Thank you," she added as Yaomomo gave her a cup.

The three sat in the cafeteria for a while, talking about random subjects to pass the time, when Kyouka suddenly brought up the library.

"Why don't we go down to the library for a while? Maybe read up on some more complex building mechanics and mystery books to make some progress on an escape plan?" the Musician suggested.

"That's actually a great idea!" Mei brightened up. "We do need to hurry up the whole getting-out-of-here thing, since no heroes have been showing up."

The three girls took their drinks along and went down to the library for the rest of the afternoon.

***

"Too slow," Mashirao huffed as he dodged Hitoshi's lunge and stuck out a leg to trip him. Losing his balance, Hitoshi yelped as he collapsed on the ground, face-down, with Mashirao looming above him.

"I win," the tailed ex-hero hissed, his hands on the backs of Hitoshi's biceps and his knee resting on the small of his back to keep him down.

Hitoshi scoffed, turning his head to look up at him. "Get off of me," he playfully commanded.

As Mashirao let go of him and Hitoshi rose to his feet, the blonde crossed his arms and put on a teacher-like expression. "You were too slow in your movements and far too predictable. Try feinting before making your move. Oh, and keep a better balance. Your feet have to be directly under you, not behind or before you, or else you're easy to trip. Let's try again."

"Yes, _sensei,"_ Hitoshi drawled in a play-mock. Mashirao grinned at him as they retook their places several meters apart and facing each other. The violette gently tugged at his shirt in an attempt to cool down.

This time, Hitoshi dove at Mashirao's right. The Martial Artist side-stepped to his left, but Hitoshi whirled towards him at the last second, grabbing his shoulder and knocking him off balance. Mashirao took a tumble as the Psychic twisted him onto his back, his punch missing his opponent's jaw by a hair. Hitoshi pinned him in one swift motion. Mashirao gasped as he hit the floor on his back. his hands were up by his ears, wrists gripped by Hitoshi's steady hands. One of the violette's knees was pressed into the Martial Artist's side, the other applying pressure to his stomach, effectively rendering him defenseless.

_"I_ win," Hitoshi grinned, finding his work satisfactory. Underneath him, Mashirao laughed.

"You sure did. Come on, let's go change now."

The two of them got up and headed for the locker room. They'd been sparring -training- to improve their fighting skills and share techniques. Besides, it was a good way to pass time, as well as get stronger in case they ever had to face a villain in hand to hand combat. Learning moves to dodge Dabi's blasts of fire and jabs with knives by Toga sure did seem like a better alternative than getting destroyed by them at a moment's notice.

"Hey, Hitoshi," Mashirao suddenly said as they were dressing after their showers. He was in the process of putting on the scarf around his neck and tying his headband.

"Hm?" Hitoshi turned. He was slipping into his violet dress suit.

"You're improving quickly," the blonde smiled at him. At the sight of his friend so carefreely happy, Hitoshi felt his anxious heart lift a little. Just a little.

"Thanks, Mashirao," he murmured. "I mean it."

As the two made their way down the halls, casually chatting about their training, the figure of an electric-yellow haired boy making his way towards them caught the attention of Hitoshi. Mashirao noticed as well, as he broke into a grin and waved at him. "Hey, Denki!"

Denki's eyes lit up as he met Mashirao's gaze. "Hey Mashirao. Where're you headed?" His gaze slipped to Hitoshi, and he grinned and waved in greeting.

"Not sure," Mashirao replied. "But you can hang out with us if you'd like! We just finished training." He glanced over at the violette. "Hitoshi's improving quickly. Maybe we should all train together, one of these days!"

The three of them wandered the halls for a while before they made their way down to the cafeteria to get a drink. They took their bottles with them and decided to just wander the school while they continued to talk.

After about ten minutes, however, they happened to run into Tooru. The black-haired girl stopped them. In her hands was -oddly enough- a cooking spoon. She looked more alive and bright-eyed than she had over the past couple of days combined, which was a lot.

"Hey Mashirao, Hitoshi, Denki!" she greeted joyously. Hitoshi gave a small smile. She was clearly happy about something.

"Hi Tooru," Mashirao replied. "What happened?"

"Oh, that's what I wanted to tell you about!" she was grinning from ear to ear. "We're having a class dinner again! We need all hands on deck in the kitchen, so could you guys come and help us?"

"Of course," Hitoshi affirmed. "We'd be glad to help."

As the four of them made their way back to the kitchen, however, Hitoshi couldn't help but notice Denki eyeing Tooru funny. His expression was slightly... off. He just couldn't pinpoint why.

"Denki? Is something bothering you?" He asked. Denki jumped, clearly having not expected such a question.

"It's nothing, really," he quickly replied. "The trial's just still wearing on me, that's all..."

Hitoshi's concerned gaze lingered on him one second longer before he decided to shrug it off. _Maybe he_ is _just still bothered by the trial. It was a rather life-changing turn of events, after all._

By the time Hitoshi, Mashirao, Denki, and Tooru made it to the kitchen, everyone else had mostly gathered there as well. The only one missing was Mezou, but Kouji explained how adamant and aggressive he'd been about not coming, so they let him be.

After making and eating their feast of a meal, it was clear the mood had certainly improved quite a bit. Katsuki's friends were joking around. Shouto and Izuku were chatting. Tsuyu had even managed to strike up friendly conversation with Fumikage. 

However, just as the class regathered in the cafeteria after washing the dishes, the loudspeaker clicked to life.

"Ahem! This is a school announcement!" _Monokuma,_ Hitoshi thought bitterly. _That wretched bear-rat._ "Please gather in the auditorium immediately! This is an emergency!"

After that, silence fell over the crowd. Cold dread settled in Hitoshi's heart like a lead weight. _Auditorium? Emergency? _

_Is it another death? No, everyone's here except Mezou, which means it's impossible for another killing to have occured. And so soon, too..._

The group made for the auditorium. As they ducked inside, Hitoshi realized that the Heavylifter was already there.

"Mezou," Fumikage greeted. "How did you make it over so quickly?"

"Unlike you, I didn't have to wait for anyone," Mezou replied coldly. He kept put in his position under the shadow of the wall in the back of the room. Hitoshi decided not to try and bother him.

Monokuma bounced out from behind the podium. "Good evening, everybody!"

"Hurry with the formalities," Dabi drawled, stepping out from one of Kurogiri's dark, swirling portals. "Let's just present the next motive."

"Motive?" Mashirao asked softly. "For what?"

"For the next killing, of course! None of you are killing anyone, and it's getting boring, so, we've made a new motive for you guys!" Monokuma announced happily.

"If another murder happens in the next forty-eight hours, and the killer gets away with it, nobody else gets executed and the killer goes free with the promised rewards," Dabi further explained.

"So if anyone wants escape but doesn't want to kill _all_ their friends in the process, there you go! Toodles!" Monokuma waved cheerily. He and Dabi disappeared behind the podium, most likely through another hidden portal.

"Th-this is crazy!" Izuku was the one to break the stunned silence that had fallen over the students. "Who would even kill again?!"

The dead quiet that followed his words answered his question better than any spoken reply.

_It's true,_ Hitoshi thought, fear trickling through his bones. _Nobody knows when another may kill again, especially with such an interesting motive. To only have to kill one person, and have a chance at freedom, along with the freedom of their prisoners; it's certainly tempting._

_Augh, no!_ He quickly chided himself. _What am I thinking?_

"I think I'll be going now," Mezou stated, making his way up the aisle and towards the door. "Wouldn't want to hang around here. Who knows which one of you is a killer in plotting?"

The Heavylifter's words hung like a storm cloud over the other students. One by one, everybody followed in Mezou's footsteps and made their way to their rooms early.

As Hitoshi entered his dormitory and collapsed on his bed, he really couldn't help but wonder. _Is someone really planning to commit murder again? Who can I trust?_

_Can I even trust myself?_


	12. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 4 - Deadly Life

Mashirao sprinted down the hallways, his heart thumping in his throat. Perspiration ran down the sides of his face, and his lungs felt like they were burning up in his chest. _Tooru, Denki, Mezou... the next is Hitoshi._

He ripped open the door and skidded to a halt in front of his friend's room. Not even bothering to catch his breath, Mashirao forcefully rapped on Hitoshi's door.

"Hitoshi! It's me, Mashirao!" He called through the door. Anxious fear bubbled in his chest like boiling water. _Come on, come on, answer the door, please..!_

Much to Mashirao's relief, Hitoshi opened the door, meeting his eyes with his own tired, violet ones. "Mashirao? What happened? You look like a wreck," he observed blandly.

"S-Something happened!" Mashirao blurted out, terrified. "The library- it's all- oh, just come with me! Hurry!"

Hitoshi's eyes widened and he tailed Mashirao down the hallways and stairs. They rounded onto the ground floor, back to the library. As the two stumbled to a halt in front of the dark oak doors, Hitoshi's eyes widened in shock.

Mashirao couldn't exactly blame him. The library had obviously been brutally burned in a fire, as evident of the blackened shelves, scorched walls and floors, and piles of ash on the floor. The windows were half-melted, blurring the view inside.

"What- What happened?!" Hitoshi stammered. "It's- it's all burnt!"

"It was like this when I found it this morning. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come down here, and- I found this." Mashirao swallowed nervously. "The doors are locked. I couldn't get in. I've tried getting multiple people, but they didn't answer the door. Only you did. Help me get in, we have to investigate..."

Hitoshi and Mashirao worked on ramming down the door. They kicked it, pulled at the doorknob, punched it, body-slammed it, everything of that sort. Finally, after several minutes of trying to knock it down, the door cracked out of the frame and fell into the room.

As soon as Mashirao stepped into the library, a horrid stench wafted up his nostrils. He immediately gagged and covered his mouth with his hand. Hitoshi was having roughly the same reaction.

"What- what is that?" Hitoshi coughed. "It smells like- like-"

"Like death," Mashirao finished grimly, swallowing bile. "Blood, rot, and smoke."

The two traversed the burned library. Mashirao inspected the piles of ash and the dark burn marks on the walls. The windows were half melted. When he brushed his fingers against it, it was still slightly soft and decently warm. He brushed off a bit of the melt, and upon touching the layer underneath it, it was still burning hot.

_So the fire occurred sometime in the night, Mashirao concluded. That'll be evidence for later..._

Suddenly, a scream rose from the other side of the library. Mashirao's eyes widened, his heart dropping into his stomach.

"Hitoshi!" He yelped as he raced towards the direction of his friend's voice. "Hitoshi, are you okay?"

Hitoshi had his back to a blackened shelf. His eyes were round violet discs of terror as he stared at something invisible in front of him. "It's- it's worse than I expected." When he met Mashirao's confused, frightful stare, he gestured vaguely behind him, around the shelves he was leaning against.

In a rush of adrenaline, Mashirao whirled around the shelf, anxiety bubbling in his chest as he wondered who it was. The people who didn't answer the door earlier- _Izuku, Denki, Shouto, Tooru, Mezou, and-_

As Mashirao rounded on the corpse, a wave of nausea rolled through him, thudding against his head in a throbbing dizziness.

_-And him._

_Blackened, sizzling skin, cracked like earth in a drought. _

_Blood oozing out of ravines in blistered, crisp flesh._

_Crumpled limbs, burnt cloth._

_Bubbling pink liquid everywhere, like spilled, boiling water over a blaze._

_A river of blood..._

Mashirao stumbled back in shock. The body was nearly unrecognizable, had it not been for his rock-shaped head.

_Kouji Kouda is dead._

Mashirao gagged as the stench of ash, rot, and blood all rolled into one rose from the body. Above him, a TV screen clicked to life. He didn't look up. His eyes were unblinkingly glued on the corpse, his gaze scanning over Kouji's corpse over and over, confirming the reality of this situation.

_It's happened again. Someone... killed..._

A robotic, painfully cheerful voice echoed from over their heads. The words felt like knives stabbing into Mashirao's skin, every syllable hitting him like a thousand-kilo boulder as the weight of it all collapsed on his lungs.

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"Wh- how-" Mashirao stuttered, his gaze still fixated on Kouji. "How could this happen again?" he whispered hoarsely. Tears were building in his eyes, and the back of his throat tightened.

_Kouji... he was so sweet, so kind to everyone, so selfless... he always worked so hard to be a hero. How could... anyone be so_ heartless _as to choose him as their victim?_

_Then again... killing anyone else would be just as cruel._

"Mashirao..." Hitoshi murmured, his voice trembling as he pulled Mashirao back to reality. "We should go tell the others."

"Y-yeah, you're right," Mashirao quickly said, backing away from the scene. "I'll go... get them..."

***

_How could this happen?_

Kyouka's hands were shaking as she stared down at her friend's burned, lifeless corpse. She'd been awoken by the body discovery announcement, and in her panicked confusion, Mashirao had come to her door to confirm the tragedy. Now, though, staring at Kouji's body with her very own eyes... it was a hundred times more real.

_Kouji... is dead?_

_Kouji... the same boy who'd won the match for us in the final exams, who overcame his fears, who fought and trained twice as hard as everyone else to become the hero he wanted to be... is gone? Forever?_

"..How?" Kyouka murmured. "Who did this?"

"It seems," Fumikage replied coolly, "that somebody took up Monokuma's motive."

"How could you be so calm about this?" Yaomomo spoke up, regarding Fumikage's statement. "Our friend has just been killed in this... this _horrid_ fashion! Could you at least show some emotion?"

"A death," Fumikage dipped his beak. "It happens every day. You just don't know it. Every day, thousands die, and we don't consider their lives ended at all. It's merely a passing to the next life."

"Merely?! But-"

"Guys," Izuku cut into the budding argument before it could explode into something a bit more violent. He was obviously shaken, but still had the strength to prevent another fight. "P-Please don't fight! For now... I think we should gather evidence. Because... it's gonna happen again, right? The class trial." His voice shook as he most likely recalled the last one, in which Ochako had been executed.

"He's right," Mezou said. For the first time in days, his eyes betrayed emotion: grief for his friend. "We must figure out this case. If we don't, the killer will get away."

"I-is there even a killer this time around?" Tamaki asked fearfully. "This... this looks like a fire. Surely there's a more efficient way to- to _kill_ one person than a large-scale burning like this."

"What could've caused such a fire?" Hitoshi asked. "Gas explosion from the basement, perhaps?"

"Nope!" An ever-cheerful voice suddenly burst from behind the group, causing everyone to jump in surprise. Monokuma stood there, having appeared out of thin air once again. In his paws, he held another monochrome tablet. "You heard the body discovery announcement! One of you definitely killed Kouji Kouda!"

"One of... us? Again?" Tsuyu's voice was low. Her eyes were teary, as if she were on the verge of breaking down.

"Yup!" Monokuma cackled. "Now, here's what I came here for: the Monokuma File!" Monokuma tossed it at the students. Out of reflex, Kyouka willed her earphone jacks to extend and snatch it, only to remember she could no longer do that. She hastily caught them in her hands instead. _'Monokuma File II',_ the tablet read in etched silver letters on the back.

"Bye-bye! Have fun!" Monokuma ran around the corner and vanished.

"Um... I guess we should do what he told us to, then," Mei concluded. Murmurs of agreement rose from the students around her. On that somber note, the group dispersed around the library, searching the scene for any clues.

_>Investigate!<_

***

Fumikage, of course, began a body inspection. Hanta quickly decided that he'd check back on the Nightwalker later and simply ask for a description rather than wait and watch. He turned and joined Kyouka instead. 

The Musician had the Monokuma File and was turning it on. She noticed him approach and held it between them so they could both see. It flashed open to a screen that contained the following information:

_'Case II_

_Victim: Kouji Kouda_

_Fatal Wound: Heavy burns all over body, smoke inhalation/suffocation._

_Other Wounds: Other than the variety of burns, none._

_Weapon: Due to the burns, it appears fire or extreme heat is the culprit._

_When: 00:59 AM'_

"One A.M., hm?" Kyouka muttered to herself.

"So it was tonight," Hanta mused. "Hey, do you want to investigate with me?" he added, watching Kyouka tuck away the tablet.

"Sure," she said, brushing off her hands. There was a sort of misty, melancholy determination in her red and blue eyes, a chord struck by the death of her friend. 

The two made their way across the library, back to the main door. Hanta sidled up to the front windows and brushed his fingers through the hot, melted glass. Kyouka joined him, their hands side by side. They'd never interacted before, but the very nature of the game, forcing cooperation in solving cases, had brought them to work together.

"It's still warm," he noted as he pulled his hand back, residue heat pulsing through his finger-pads. Kyouka was inspecting the melt streaks.

"I'd guess that's because of the fact that the fire was in an enclosed space," someone said right behind him. Hanta and Kyouka both jumped and whirled around, only to find themselves staring into Shouto's steady, sharp gaze.

"Sorry. Did I startle you?" he asked, stepping back.

"Oh! No, um, it's nothing," Kyouka quickly affirmed. Hanta nodded in agreement. "But what were you saying?"

"Well, since the fire was contained only in the library, the enclosed space would mean the heat had nowhere to go," Shouto explained. "So the room would've maintained a fairly high temperature after the fire extinguished itself due to lack of oxygen. "

"What about the vents?" Hanta pointed out. "The ventilation would've circuited the air."

"That'd be impossible," Shouto retorted. "Look."

He pointed at something at the base of the wall. Hanta turned and spotted the vent cover in question, before quickly realizing what he was talking about.

"It's closed," Kyouka stated from behind him. The vent door behind the bars of the cover was down, blocking the circulation of air. Upon examining the rest of the vents in the library with Shouto, they quickly realized all of them were blocked.

"So the killer must've blocked the ventilation to keep in the heat," Shouto concluded as they circled back around. "Intriguing, very intriguing indeed..."

Kyouka and Hanta and Shouto split up again as the Theorist went to investigate the area around the body. Hanta and Kyouka looked over the busted door again -which now lay on the ground next to the doorframe, having been completely ripped from its hinges- before moving into the library once more.

Hanta brushed his fingers against the scorch marks on the walls and shelf sides. The books they once held had been reduced to shriveled, blackened crisps. He sighed, blowing the black ash dust off of his fingertips. _Who could've created such a horrible scene?_

"Hey, Kyouka, Hanta," a voice suddenly spoke up from behind him. When Hanta turned to see who it was, he realized it was Mina. The pink-skinned girl was wearing a rather worried expression.

"What did you find?" Kyouka asked.

"It's- uh- I just thought of something." Mina gestured towards the busted door. "If the door had been locked, then how would the killer have left the room? There's no other exit out of the library. I checked the emergency exit door, which is unlockable, but there were many scorch marks and burns on it. Even the handle was partially melted."

"I see what you're going at," Hanta said slowly, thinking about what evidence his friend had described. "If they set the fire and then blocked the doors, which they only could've done from the inside, then..."

"How did they leave?" Mina finished for him. "I've been stumped by this question, and I've already asked Mei and Nejire about it."

"I'm not sure," Hanta replied, his mind reeling off random possibilities. "But we'll discuss it... _later."_

Mina nodded, her stance determined. She left them to their own devices, strolling back to the front of the library. Hanta and Kyouka continued investigation throughout the room, swiftly noticing the trails of ash leading from shelf to shelf. There was a larger pile of the burnt remains of presumably books next to each shelf.

_I wonder what's up with this ash chain,_ Hanta thought. As he followed the trail, he suddenly realized that it formed a closed loop around a quarter of the library. Within this encirclement of ash was the mystery section, the computers, and Kouji's body.

As Hanta circled back to the aisle between the mystery and horror shelves, he noticed something on the ground. It was partially burnt, but it still held up a shape. When he knelt down to examine the scorched piece of evidence, Hanta made a sudden discovery.

"A matchbox," Kyouka murmured, taking it from him and running her finger along the side of the box. It collapsed due to her touch, so she retreated her hand, placing it back on the ground. "And it appears to be empty." She took note of it and wiped her blackened finger on her shirt hem. Hanta got up, and the two carried on.

_Fumikage should be done with the body investigation by now,_ Hanta realized as he made his way back to the body. _I should ask him about it._

"Fumikage," he said, approached the inspector to alert him of his presence. Fumikage looked up at him, still kneeling beside Kouji's body. Behind him, he could hear Kyouka's sharp intake of breath as she saw her friend's corpse again.

"Ah. Hanta and Kyouka." Fumikage got up. "I presume you are here for the autopsy results?"

Hanta nodded.

"Well, I've examined his body, as you can tell," Fumikage began, raising his hands. Hanta suppressed a gag as he realized his gloves were covered in blood. It was certainly fresh, as evident by the shiny, wet pink liquid, but the charred, dry chips of skin and black flesh mixed into it made the sight rather revolting.

"I have also examined his burns. He indeed appears to only have these burn wounds, and died in this position." Fumikage gestured down, at Kouji's face-down corpse. "It appears, however, that he was holding this when he died. I extracted it from his grasp."

Fumikage proceeded to bend over and pick up what looked like a charred, black folder. The top was mostly clean, spare for a splashing of blood, with only its corner blackened from a burn. Hanta read the small, emblazoned golden words on its cover. Kyouka sidled up next to him.

_"The Porcupine Bomber?"_ He read aloud, confused. "What is that?"

"It's a case on a rather popular bomber as of late," Fumikage explained. "They appear to be a male, high-school age guy who wears a full-head porcupine mask on their expeditions. Their targets vary from time to time, and bombings occur around once a month. Here, the case has some more details on it."

Hanta took the folder from Fumikage and opened it. Within its contents were some shadowy surveillance camera snapshots of the suspect, eyewitness accounts who were at the locations, and a list of the locations bombed over the past year. Fumikage had gotten the general gist of the case pretty well.

"I found something else in this file, too," Fumikage suddenly spoke up. He leaned over and flipped the file to a certain dog-eared page. The pages were detailing the two bombings that occurred back in October, but over one of the pages, a scrawled message written in blood read: _'Secret venl'._ The letters became paler and shakier as the words progressed.

"It is Kouji's dying message," Fumikage said. 

"Secret Ven?" Hanta read aloud. "Why does it matter? It doesn't even make sense!"

Next to Hanta, Kyouka gave him a glare. "Um, sorry..." Hanta muttered, realizing that saying one of her closest friends' final thoughts were meaningless was rather rude.

"Whatever it means, we should keep it in mind," Fumikage finished.

Before he could say any more, a bell rang over the loudspeakers. Monokuma's voice was broadcasted over them following the chime.

"Ahem! Investigation is over. It is time for the class trial! Please make your way to the elevator immediately. See you later!~"

"I suppose we should get going, then," Fumikage said. Hanta nodded and placed the open case by Kouji's body. Kyouka knelt down to give him a final prayer, her fingers brushing over his cheek, before she too got up and swiftly strode out of the library without looking back.

Hanta grimly began to follow the rest of the class out of the library and towards the elevator. They boarded the fancy space, its containment less crowded than before, reminding him of what had happened just a few days prior.

_I can't believe it's happened again,_ Hanta thought. _But it has._

_A deadly deceit. A deadly crime._

_A case of fire and blood and death..._

_A deadly class trial._

The elevator doors slid open, and the class entered the trial room.


	13. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 5 - Class Trial

"Weeelllllcome back!" Monokuma said brightly, jumping down from the throne as the class took their places in the ring. "I hope you're ready!"

"Monokuma and Twice!" Denki yelped in alarm, eyeing the villain on the throne and the artificial rodent. "Are you here to watch us this time?"

"Well, yes. For that reason, and to dish out the possible execution at the end..." Twice tapped his finger cynically on the golden armrest. "Now, Monokuma, would you start this thing already?"

"Oh, yeah!" Monokuma jumped back up onto Twice's lap. "Let the class trial begin!"

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"Alright, like last time, we should start with what concrete evidence we have," Hanta began. "Meaning the Monokuma File."

"Good idea," Mirio noted. "It's a good base for our story of the case."

"Kyouka, you have the tablet. Could you read it aloud to us?" Mina asked.

Kyouka pulled the tablet out from inside her jacket and began transcribing the file. "The victim was Kouji Kouda." Her voice shuddered as she spoke her friend's name, but she continued with a moment's hesitation. 

"The time of death was around one A.M.. The only wounds he had were the severe burns, in addition to smoke inhalation, and the cause of death appears to be from fire or extreme heat."

"Knowing this, we should proceed onto the weapon, or in this case, fire-starter," Fumikage said. "The murder weapon may open up new details to the case."

_>Non-Stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Melted Windows, Monokuma File #2, Burned Floor and Shelves, Empty Matchbox, Trail of Ash, Dying Message<_

"What could've the killer used to start a fire?" Tamaki asked.

"Maybe it was a **gas explosion,"** Eijirou said. "After all, the next floor under the library would be the basement, and who knows what's down there?"

"We're practically _in_ the basement level right now," Mei argued. "The trial room would be destroyed if there was a gas explosion."

"So what is it?" Izuku asked.

"What if it was a **portable stove** from the kitchen?" Yuga suggested.

"Where the fuck would you find a portable stove?" Katsuki retorted.

"I'm unsure... likely the kitchens, _Monsieur,"_ Yuga replied.

"The heat _could_ have caused the books to catch fire," Shouto mused. "But it is unlikely. **I don't believe I ever even saw a portable stove** in the kitchens."

"What else could you possibly use to start a fire using our given materials?" Nejire wailed. "It's impossible! It's **impossible** to find out what was used to cause a fire!"

_"No, that's wrong!"_ Hanta countered.

_>Empty Matchbox : Counter!<_

"The cause of the fire is pretty clear," Hanta explained. "While investigating, a rather burned, empty match-box was found near some of the ash. That's what was used to start the fire. The killer used matches to start it!"

"Ooh, matches?" Nejire digested the information. "Where would you find matches?"

"We found some in the teacher's lounge, a while ago," Tooru said. "It's not that far-fetched."

"Alright, so we've established the cause of the fire," Kyouka said. "Now what?"

"There's a question that's been on my mind for a while now," Hanta said. "How did the fire spread so quickly?

"The library is pretty big, and just about all of it, front to back, was burned in the fire. How did the killer spread the flames quickly enough that Kouji couldn't escape?"

"An interesting question, and a good step in the right direction," Fumikage complimented. "Fair enough. We can go from there."

_>Non-Stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Burned Exit Door, Locked Room Murder, Trails of Ash, Burned Floor and Shelves<_

"What could have the killer used to spread the fire..?" Kyouka mused.

"I bet it was with **oil from the kitchen,"** Shouto speculated. "A ring of oil around the library..!"

"Th-that's a little extreme," Denki said.

"How about they just **set fire to several different places?** I mean, they had a whole matchbox," Eijirou offered.

"That would've been too obvious and suspicious. Kouji could easily **escape** if they did that," Izuku countered.

"Y'know, maybe the weirdest ideas are the best," Mina brought up. "Take Shouto's idea, but with a **trail of flammables** instead of the oil."

_"I agree with that!"_ Hanta called out.

_>Trails of Ash : Consent!<_

"Mina is right. The killer most likely took a ton of flammables and made a loop of them around the section of the library they were trying to burn," Hanta said. "The trail of ash around part of the library confirms that. And-"

_"No, that's wrong!"_

Hanta jumped as somebody interrupted him. "What?"

"That's wrong! A trail of flammables wouldn't work!" Izuku boldly exclaimed.

"Wh-what are you saying?" Hanta stammered.

"I'm saying that there has to be another way," Izuku claimed. "I'm going to prove it!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Izuku Midoriya : Hanta Sero_

_Truth Blades : Dying Message, Locked Room Murder, Empty Matchbox, Burned Exit Door, Piles of Ash, Monokuma File #2<_

"A trail of flammables wouldn't work. There has to be another way the killer could've spread the fire!" Izuku began. "A trail like that made out of something such as books wouldn't spread the flames fast enough. It wouldn't work. Kouji would just pick up on the smell of smoke and escape the loop!"

"Well, there's no other possibility on what happened," Hanta retorted. "That trail of ash proves it!"

"Well, maybe it was something else!" Izuku pressed on. "A single trail, no matter how quickly it spreads, **won't make it!** The killer-"

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Piles of Ash : Cut!<_

"I don't believe the killer planted a fire in just one part of the library and ran," Hanta said. "The larger piles of ash every so often prove that. It's likely the killer set fire to multiple, broad checkpoints around the loop before running. They wouldn't have to set many checkpoints, so it wouldn't have been too suspicious. That's how the fire spread so quickly."

"Ah, I see..." Izuku sighed and stared down. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Kyouka reassured her classmate. "If what Hanta said was true, then now we know that the killer likely started the fire while Kouji was already in the library. They must've set up their checkpoints before he arrived, though, because he would've noticed such a suspicious act and fled. You could easily drop smaller items to form a trail inconspicuously, once Kouji was already there."

"A logical conclusion," Fumikage concluded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to discuss our alibis and accounts. Based on what Kyouka stated earlier, we know the murder took place at one in the morning last night. Who has an alibi for such a time?"

Silence followed Fumikage's question. He let out a sigh of disappointment. "Is that so? Do none of you have an alibi, other than myself?"

"You have have an alibi?" Tamaki probed. "Could you give it to us?"

"Well, as befitting of my Ultimate title, I was wandering around," Fumikage explained. "I left my room at around ten PM, and I went down to the library. I was looking around in the Restricted Section."

"Wait, the library?!" Tooru called out. "Did you see-?"

"Yes, indeed I did. I watched Kouji enter the library. I may have been around eleven... He signed me a greeting and headed to the computers. When I left just a few minutes after his arrival, I think he was getting to work."

"Did you see what he was doing?" Hanta questioned further. _I need all the evidence I can get... there's a frightening lack of information here..._

"Reading an article? Trying to communicate with the outside world? I'm not sure. But I saw him." Fumikage crossed his arms lowered his head. "That was the last I saw of him. However, as I made my way back to my room, I did run into a certain _someone..."_

"You saw even more people?! Who was it?" Mei called out.

"Denki. Would you care to elaborate?" Fumikage turned to stare at the electric-haired teen.

"A-Ahh!" Denki jumped. "Uh- well, uh, it's nothing, really..."

"Spill it," Tamaki stated, his voice characteristically soft, but cold nonetheless. Denki shuddered as if struck by ice.

"U-um, I was going to get a glass of water from the cafeteria... I ran into Fumikage, and saw him go back to his room, then, uh, I ran into another person- Katsuki!" Denki nervously said. "He was going to the gym."

"Katsuki?" Eijirou inclined his head and gave Katsuki a curious look. "You went to train? Did you hear anything or see anyone?"

"No, of course not!" Katsuki snapped. "If I had, I would've spoken up at this point! I didn't hear shit, you got that?! How am I supposed to know what's happening two floors below me?"

"Okay, okay! We get your point, Katsuki," Kyouka cut him off. "But I was just reminded of something. The case we found Kouji clutching... Fumikage? _'The Porcupine Bomber',_ am I right?"

"Yes," Fumikage confirmed. "That case... it was about a notorious bomber who bombed hero agencies and business buildings alike. They're all work places, but that's about it as far as similarities between cases go," he explained.

"Interesting... Kouji had been holding that file, so could it have any importance to this case?" Hanta asked.

"I most likely does," Fumikage said. "However, I had only skimmed it through, and I don't have it on me. We'll need to see that if we're to make any conclusions..."

"No worries!" Monokuma suddenly spoke up, making Hanta jump in surprise. "Bombing file, you say? You need the thing?"

"Yes," Yaomomo huffed. "Could you fetch it?"

"Oh, I'll get it, just you wait!" With that, Monokuma ran off, diving behind the throne and vanishing.

Twice sighed. "He'll be quick. Just wait a minute, okay, kids?"

"I'd rather not wait on the rodent, but I suppose we'll have to," Fumikage replied. "No bother."

An awkward silence fell over the trial room, spare for Twice tapping his finger on the armrest. The quiet was short-lived, however, as Yaomomo broke it.

"So... while we wait on the bear, there's another thing I wanted to discuss... it's the killer's method of escape," she said.

"Huh? Method of escape?" Tooru remarked.

"Yeah. If the killer really had set the library on fire, then how did the killer themself escape?" Yaomomo continued.

_She's right,_ Hanta thought. _In order to solve this case... we have to figure that out! I have to show them... the answer..._

_>Non-Stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Kyouka's Account, Monokuma File #2, Dying Message, Burned Floor and Shelves, Fumikage's Alibi<_

"So, how did the killer escape the library?" Mirio mused.

"Maybe they _did_ leave through the **front door,"** Tooru suggested.

"That's impossible! You can't lock the door from the outside!" Eijirou retorted.

"Are there any other exits in the library, though?" Mei asked.

"Well, yeah! How about the **emergency exit door?"** Nejire suggested.

"Well, wasn't that door **locked?"** Denki piped up.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Kyouka's Account : Counter!<_

"The door was not locked, as Kyouka told me earlier," Hanta said. "Nejire was right. It's the only way... the killer must've escaped via the emergency exit door," he declared. "Since the front door was locked, the only other way you can leave is through that door."

Nejire grinned. "Ah! I was righ-"

_"Not so fast!"_

Hanta whirled around to meet Mina's dark gaze. She looked awfully agitated.

"No, that's impossible!" Mina snapped. "I was the one who discovered the emergency exit, and I know for a fact that the door had a severe burn on it, as well as a melted doorknob. You can't leave through there!"

"M-Mina, calm down-"

"Did you investigate that personally? I don't remember you doing so, and therefore your claim is unreliable!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Mina Ashido : Hanta Sero_

_Truth Blades : Monokuma File #2, Severe Burns on Body, Trail of Ash, Burned Exit Door, Warm Melted Glass, Burned Floor and Shelves<_

"When I had gone to investigate the emergency exit door, it had severe burns on it and the handle was practically half melted," Mina began. "If the handle had been melted, how would you use the door to get out?"

"Maybe the door was burned by the fire _after_ the killer left," Hanta reasoned. "The order of the events here is certainly up for debate."

"Well, when I went to check to melted handle, that stuff was cool," Mina replied. "It's certainly possible for the thing to have burned first, which is why it would have cooled off. Also, that door was severely burned. It was probably literally on fire, which is why you **wouldn't be able to go through it!"**

"Fine, look at this a different way: how else could the killer have left the library after setting the fire, if not through the emergency exit?" Hanta changed the direction of the conversation, realizing that there was no way he could argue against her strongest points. _But if I can target her weak spots-_

"Well, what if they just **hid** in there, in somewhere safe until the fire died down?"

_"That's wrong!"_

_>Burned Floor and Shelves : Cut!<_

"The library had been burned all over. The walls were all scorched, and every bookshelf was also burned. Even the cabinets were scorched. There would be no place to hide, and therefore, the killer must've left the library after setting it on fire," Hanta explained definitively. "And the only possible way out was the emergency exit door. The handle easily could've melted after they left." 

"Oh. I see..." Mina looked drained and stared at her feet instead. "Hmm... sorry."

"Wha-wha?? Did I miss something big?" Monokuma suddenly bounced through the trial room, a skip in his step and the burned, bloody bombing file under his arm.

"Yeah, you missed a really fun Rebuttal Showdown," Hanta casually replied.

"Boo! I wanted to watch that..." Monokuma looked downcast as he handed Fumikage the file. "I got your file, you ungrateful kids."

Hanta winced as Fumikage casually took the blood-covered file. The gore streaked his gloves, painting them pink and singed black all over again.

"Thank you, Monokuma," the bird-headed teen drawled. "Anyway, let's take a look at this file... Kouji died holding this, so it must have _some_ significance."

Fumikage opened the file and flipped through it. Several people -including Hanta- left their podiums to huddle around him.

"Look," Kyouka suddenly spoke up as Fumikage slowly turned the pages. "Pictures of the Porcupine Bomber."

Hanta followed her finger. Her attention had been snagged by a page bearing two screenshots that displayed the mysterious criminal, both taken from surveillance camera footage.

They were wearing a black jumpsuit and were shrouded in shadow. However, Hanta could still make out their general figure.

In the one image, they were backlit by a stark-white street lamp. They appeared to be slouched, and due to their full-head mask their hair was hidden. A single, spiky crest that resembled porcupine spines ran over their skull.

"You know," Eijirou commented. "I feel like I know what the connection between this file and this case is. You know how the Bomber is reported in this file to be a teenager?"

"Well, yeah..." Hanta cocked his head. "How is that relevant?"

"What if the Porcupine Bomber killed Kouji?"

There was a stiff beat of silence. Then-

"Are you implying... that the Porcupine Bomber is one of us?" Izuku slowly asked. His green eyes were wide with horror.

"Yes," Fumikage said. "It's the most plausible theory as of right now. The massive-scale attack, the fiery theme of the murder, this Bomber file in particular... It's certainly not far-fetched."

Hanta's gaze flickered from classmate to classmate. _The Porcupine Bomber... one of us? Who could it be?_

_Brave, kind-hearted Izuku? Upbeat, ever-curious Nejire? Bold Eijirou, or clever Katsuki? Sweet Tsuyu? Cold but caring Fumikage?_

Looking at his friends and classmates, Hanta couldn't exactly comprehend the concept that one of the ex-heroes was a killer of dozens of innocent civilians and the destroyer of entire buildings.

"If that really is the case," Yaomomo said slowly, "Then how do we even find out who the Bomber is?"

"Since we have nothing else to go off of, I thought we should determine the height of the Porcupine Bomber. Since our most plausible theory as of right now is that the Bomber is one of us, we just have to match up the heights," Fumikage explained.

"How do we do that?" Denki asked softly.

"Well, I have this." Fumikage reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a measuring tape, pen, and notepad. "We'll do some simple measurements and use proportions to convert them into actual heights."

Hanta watched in awe as Fumikage quickly got to work. In the second screenshot in the file, there was a simple recycling bin in the alley, next to the form of the Bomber with his back to the camera.

Fumikage swiftly measured the height of the recycling bin. "Two centimeters," he muttered, jotting it down on the notepad. He turned to Yaomomo. "Yaomomo, didn't you read something in one of those books about the standard height of public recycling bins in Tokyo?"

"Um, yes," Yaomomo replied. "They're usually one and a half meters, or one-fifty centimeters."

"Perfect," Fumikage gave a small, rare smile. "So one centimeter in this photo is equivalent to seventy-five centimeters in real life." He continued in his work by measuring the height of the Bomber in the picture and simply converting it using the proportion.

"Mmh... based on these measurements, I can safely declare that the Porcupine Bomber is about one hundred and seventy centimeters tall!" Fumikage announced, grandly circling the number on his paper.

"Well, aren't we lucky someone paid attention in math?" Denki muttered.

"Monokuma, Twice, do you have a list of student profiles?" Fumikage asked, turning to the bear.

"Sure do! Here, have this folder." Twice handed Monokuma a manila folder, who tossed it to Fumikage in turn. He handed it off to Yaomomo.

"Could you check the heights of everybody? Tell me the names of those within two centimeters of one-seventy." Fumikage requested. Yaomomo did as he asked, flipping through the report cards and softly stating a name every so often.

"Yuga... Mashirao... Eijirou... and Katsuki..." Yaomomo looked up from the device. "That's it."

"So, here are our suspects!" Fumikage called out. "Yuga, Mashirao, Eijirou, and Katsuki! One of you is the Porcupine Bomber, as well as the murderer of Kouji!"

Hanta whipped around to face the shocked expressions of the four. Yuga was petrified to the spot, Mashirao's face had gone blank and his eyes were wide, Eijirou was a mixture of confused and horrified, and Katsuki looked rather angry, as usual.

"What are you callin' me, you fuckass bird-face?!" Katsuki shrieked. "Me? A killer?"

"Yeah, there's no way I'd kill someone! Ever!" Eijirou sobbed.

"I... Do you doubt me?" Mashirao murmured.

"I wouldn't... I would never..!" Yuga stammered.

"None of them are exactly coming forward," Hanta noted. "And all of them are acting as expected of somebody accused of possibly being a mass-bomber."

"With this in mind, let's take a look at the alibis," Fumikage said. "Whoever has the weakest alibi is most likely the Bomber. Yuga, you go fi-"

"Mashirao has an alibi."

Hanta jumped and turned to meet Hitoshi's dark, violet eyes.

"Excuse me?" Fumikage cocked his head.

"I said, Mashirao has an alibi." Hitoshi met Fumikage's peculiar stare. "I asked Monokuma about rules earlier. He gave me this information.

"In order for the Body Discovery Announcement to play, three people have to have discovered the body, excluding the killer. When Mashirao and I showed up, the Discovery Announcement played. Therefore, Mashirao is not a suspect."

"But what if two people other than the killer had seen the body before?" Hanta argued.

"How would that be possible?" Hitoshi retorted. "The door was locked. The exit was burned, and the window was darkened."

"Then what if two people saw it before the windows melted and burned?" Hanta insisted.

"Then whoever it was, step forward!" Hitoshi snapped. "That would remove them from all suspicion as well, as they helped trigger the Announcement."

"Fair enough. Would anybody like to step forward and admit that they saw Kouji's body before Hitoshi and Mashirao?" Tokoyami asked, his crimson eyes surveying his classmates cautiously.

A beat of heavy silence. Then-

"I saw it." 

"Yuga?" Tokoyami stared at the boisterous blonde. "You saw it?"

"I was taking a walk because I couldn't sleep. I saw the body then." Yuga raised his head defiantly. "I glimpsed it through a half-melted window. At a certain angle from the left side, you could see it through the shelves."

"So that settles it. Yuga and Mashirao are not suspects anymore. Neither is Hitoshi," Fumikage said. "That leaves Eijirou and Katsuki."

"Hey... before we continue any further, I think I have a suspect," Tooru suddenly cut in.

"A suspect?" Hanta questioned, eyeing the tan girl. "Who?"

"Katsuki Bakugou."


	14. Chapter 2 : True-Red Murder Mystery - Part 6 - Class Trial

"ME?!" Katsuki screeched. "There's no way!"

"Well, I have a pleasant theory," Tooru insisted, her voice uncharacteristically silky. "Look at the pictures again. Notice anything? Don't worry! Even if you don't, I do," she added a little too brightly when Hanta gave her a confused look. Fumikage flipped back to the screenshots in the file.

"You see the slouched position and the extreme addition of spiky ornaments in the outfit? And even the name itself, _Porcupine_ Bomber? Very aggressive and very... well, pointy, am I right? Doesn't it remind you of our favorite spiky blonde?" Tooru asked, her voice bright but her gaze sharp and cocky. It was extremely unlike her, when compared to the bouncy, optimistic invisible girl they'd know before.

"Well, yes," Yaomomo said slowly, obviously confused by her sudden change in attitude. "But is that it..?"

"Pretty much. But it all matches up, doesn't it? Right height, right decor, right posture... even the title is befitting of our explosive classmate." Tooru put on an overly sweet smile. "Am I right?"

"Wh- Tooru, no! Katsuki would never- never kill-" Eijirou cried.

"Well, his aggressive temperament and alleged violent behavior in junior high fits the bill, don't you think?" Tooru said softly. Eijioru opened and closed his mouth several times, but made no sound, his eyes wide with stubborn disbelief.

"Explosives... Katsuki's quirk was Explosion. It _does_ fit the bill," Mei murmured.

"Hey! Shut up, shut up!" Katsuki suddenly screamed in the pinkette's face. _He certainly does sound desperate..._

"So, Katsuki," Tooru prompted. "What do you say?"

"What do I say?" Katsuki snarled, whirling around to meet her mocking, dancing, magenta gaze. "I say this is BULLSHIT!

"Me, the PORCUPINE BOMBER?! IMPOSSIBLE! THIS IS ALL BASED OFF OF SHITTY ACCUSATIONS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES!"

Katsuki's eyes were wild, blazing, blood-fire orbs, filled with shadowed, desperate, sorrowful hatred. Hanta winced and stepped back from the blonde.

"K-Katsuki..?" Eijirou slowly said, approaching his buddy like a hunter approaching a cornered wild animal.

"Shut up! SHUT UP! I'M NOT THE BOMBER!" Katsuki screeched in his face. Eijirou jumped back in shock, hurt and shock evident on his face. Hanta though that, for a split moment, the blonde's expression betrayed regret in upsetting the red-haired ex-hero, before morphing back into rage at Tooru and her theory.

"Katsuki... calm down..! You're just acting even more suspicious!" Hanta cried, catching Katsuki by the arm. The blonde shook him off.

"I don't give a shit!" Katsuki screeched. "It doesn't matter, because there's no way I could be the killer anyway!"

"Huh?" Tooru butted in, cocking her head. "Huh? Huh? Why nooot?" she whined.

"Well, obviously, I was training all last night! I wouldn't- wouldn't have time to go and set a stupid-ass fire!" Katsuki yelled.

"Can anybody confirm that?" Tooru asked. "Fumikage? Denki? Eijirou? Can you?"

Dead silence.

"Come ON, guys! I'm not the killer!" Katsuki continued screaming.

"Can you prove that?" Hanta asked softly.

"YES I CAN! WHY ARE YOU DOUBTING ME?! OF COURSE I FUCKING CAN, YOU DUMBFUCK!" Katsuki screamed.

"Get back to your podiums! It's time for some action!" Monokuma called, sensing the breaking tension in the room.

_>Panic Talk Action : Start!<_

{Katsuki's Audio Clips <> Hanta's Retort}

"I'm not the killer!" <> "You're the only one!"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" <> "I won't!"

"Shitty theories!" <> "There's solid evidence, not just conspiracies!"

"You have no real proof!" <> "Yes, I do!"

"I'm not the fucking Bomber!" <> "It could only be you!"

_>Final Strike!<_

_>W = Known  
A = Title  
S = Ultimate  
D = Un<_

"It's just a fucking theory! It's all just a bunch of coincidences!"

_"It's over!"_

_>D-W-S-A : UnKnownUltimateTitle : Break!<_

"Katsuki. It's about your Ultimate Title," Hanta hissed.

"What?! What about it, Dunce-face?!" Katsuki snapped.

"You've never actually told us what it is, have you?" Hanta prompted. "What is it?"

"It must be something he doesn't want us to know about... ah! I see!" Nejire piped up. "If Katsuki tells us his Ultimate title, we may get the definitive clue for this case!"

"Katsuki. Come on. It's over. Just... please. Tell us your Ultimate title," Hanta pleaded.

"Bro! What do you mean, _it's over?!"_ Eijirou yelled. "How could you just turn on your friends like this! After all we've been through... And you still can't trust us?!" Hurt and betrayal shone in his bright crimson eyes, sending a pang through Hanta's chest.

"I... I don't want to do this either," he admitted. "But... to survive... I have to! We have to get out of here... we have to uncover every case thrown at us, remember, Eijirou?" Hanta hoped nobody would notice the way his voice broke or the way his hands were shaking. He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to put Katsuki to certain death, but he didn't want to die either.

_How selfish of me..._

"Now, if we just go through this case one more time, I think we'll be ready to cast votes," Fumikage cut in. "Come on, Hanta. Give us the story from the very beginning, one last time."

Hanta's heart sank. _That's right... I have to do this... and close the case, once and for all!_

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

"At about eleven P.M. last night, Kouji went down to the library to work on something on the computers. When he had gone in, Fumikage was there. They greeted each other and went their separate ways, as the latter soon left.

"After Fumikage left, the killer entered the library, ready to carry out their scheme to kill Kouji, who was busily working away on his computer at that moment. The killer began stealthily laying out a trail of flammables, such as a books, folders, and papers. Once they had created a ring of flammable materials around the section of the library Kouji was in, they used the box of matches they had taken from the teacher's lounge to set the trail on fire. To spread the flames faster, the killer simply set multiple intervals of the books on fire.

"After setting the fire, the killer quickly escaped out of the emergency exit before their trail set the door ablaze and locked them inside, since they had also locked the main library doors. At this point, Kouji had realized there was a fire in the library, but it was too late. He'd been surrounded by a wall of fire that crept ever closer towards him.

"Knowing he was done for, Kouji gave us one definitive clue: he ran to the Restricted Section and grabbed the file on _The Porcupine Bomber:_ the secret identity of the killer, whom he had glimpsed in the library. Actually, if I may go out on a limb for a moment, that was probably what Kouji had been doing in the library all that time: uncovering the identity of the Bomber, due to being suspicious of them ever since they refused to reveal their Ultimate title a week ago at dinner.

"Regardless, Kouji stumbled back through the library, file clutched to his chest, when he collapsed on a rug. As heat delirium began overtaking his senses, he wrote one final thing on the file with his own blood from the burn wounds: _Secret Ven._ He likely meant to write _"Secret Identity",_ but got sloppy and never got to finish due to death taking him in its arms, his corpse doomed to burn forever.

"Isn't that right, Katsuki Bakugou? You're the Porcupine Bomber and the killer of Kouji, right?!"

_>Break!<_

"K-Katsuki... that can't be..." Eijirou's eyes were wide with horror. "Come on, tell me that's a lie!"

"I wish I were wrong..." Hanta murmured. "But there's no other plausible truth."

"C-Come on, Eijirou," Katsuki suddenly said, his voice breaking in the middle of his sentence, the rage obviously having been drained out of him completely after his crimes were revealed. "Here. Here. Just take it, shitty Soysauce. I don't give a fuck anymore."

On that note, he pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at Hanta. The ravenette fumbled and caught it in his shaking palms. And as he opened his hands...

"Your key," Hanta murmured. "It's your room key. And..."

On the silver key ring were two accessories. First of all was the bronze-colored key with Katsuki's room number etched into it. The second item, however...

_The name-tag._

It was a little, orange tag made out of plastic. It was one of those tags that looked like it'd been painted from the inside, with a clear plastic layer around a block of shimmering color. On one side of the metallic red and orange tag was the name _'Bakugou, Katsuki.'_ And on the other side...

_"The Ultimate Bomber."_

Those words sank into Hanta's heart, and a cold horror pooled in his gut. _So it's true. Katsuki Bakugou..._ He looked up. The blonde appeared subdued, glaring at the floor. _The Ultimate Bomber._

"Katsuki... so that's really it," Eijirou murmured mournfully. "The Porcupine Bomber... the killer of this case... Why? Why did you do all this?"

"Wh-What? Why I did what?" Katsuki snapped out of his daze, his eyes blazing as he whirled on Eijirou.

"Why would you... bomb... all these places?" Eijirou looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Why? Well... I did it for the money."

"WHAT?"

"The money. I was paid by other agencies to do this kind of stuff, you know. Eliminate the opposition. I'm pretty high-demand, too. I needed the money to help my parents pay for my school bills and shit. I had to..." Katsuki cracked a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry you had to find out, Eijirou."

"Katsuki..." Eijirou's eyes were filled with tears now. "To find out the guy I love is a mass murderer... How do you think I'm supposed to respond to this?"

Hanta blinked in surprise when Katsuki had no major reaction to his statement. _Eijirou and... Katsuki? Those two were in a relationship? I guess it was kind of obvious, considering how close they were, but still..._

"Eijioru, I'm sorry," Katsuki muttered. His eyes were downcast; it was so uncharacteristic of him that it sent shivers down Hanta's spine. "I'm so... fucking... sorry..."

A beat of silence, before the trial room erupted into chaos.

Nearly everyone began calling out at once, yelling at Katsuki. It was an expected response from the class, finding out their beloved classmate was a mass bomber, Hanta decided. He himself was silent, although some of his friends -like Mina, for example- were less than quiet.

"Katsuki, how could you be so indifferent?!" Yaomomo suddenly screeched over the other voices, directly to Katsuki, with a passion so violent and so raw, that everyone fell silent and made way for her.

Katsuki looked up and met her gaze, his eyes sad orbs of crimson. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're a bomber... a mass bomber... have you ever seen the reports of your bombings? The number of people who die in each of these incidents? How many people would you guess you have killed and not even batted an eye at?!" Yaomomo's voice was laced with a venomous rage that none of them had seen before. _She's truly a hero at heart... a lover of the masses, of every civilian and innocent human being._

"I... I-" Katsuki tried to get a word in, but Yaomomo kept ranting. People around them began to mutter and cry out in indignation once more in agreement with her, so she kept raising her voice to be heard.

"And if that's not enough, you killed our friend, Kouji! How do you think we feel? You think we'll forgive you, right, you emotionless bastard?!" She yelled at him.

Katsuki was stunned into silence, staring at her. Most of the class had resumed yelling again, fueled with a new perspective from her rant. As Hanta glanced around, his own mouth shut, he could tell many people were hit hard by Yaomomo's point. 

Some, like Tamaki and Mei, were now glaring at Katsuki while screaming at him, although the former was characteristically silent. Most disturbing of all, however, was Mina. Like before, she was calling out wishes of imprisonment and death upon someone she'd considered a close friend mere hours- no, _minutes-_ prior.

"Ahem! Sorry to break into this emotional stuff, but it looks like you guys are done debating. It's Voting Time!" Monokuma yelled, casting a sudden and uneasy silence over the students. He jumped down and mounting his own podium. "Please use the lever in front of you to cast your votes!"

"Wh-What?!" Katsuki yelled, breaking out of his haze, his voice rising over the din. "W-Wait! Just because I'm the fucking Porcupine Bomber doesn't mean I killed Kouji! WAIT! WE'RE NOT DONE! MONOKUMA!"

"Puhuhu... sorry." The bear didn't look very apologetic.

"Guys! GUYS! I'M NOT THE KILLER! I'M NOT, I SWEAR ON MY FUCKING LIFE! COME ON!" Katsuki had transformed back into a cornered fox, screaming desperately that he wasn't the killer.

"I'm sorry, Katsuki." Hanta murmured. "But you're the only one who could've done this..."

With an outcome like this, it's no wonder that everybody was horrified when the Monokuma Voting machine landed on Katsuki and made a horrible screeching sound. It was so _unlike_ Ochako's outcome that Hanta nearly screamed in terror.

"Wh-What the-? Why did that just happen?!" Hanta yelped.

"Puhuhu... looks like you got it wrong this time!" Monokuma cackled. The machine's screen and lights had turned dark once more.

_>Class Trial : End!<_

"Wr-Wrong?! What do you mean, we got it wrong?" Hanta spluttered.

"It means," Katsuki snarled. "That I'M NOT THE KILLER!"

"Well, then who is?!" Tooru stammered. She was obviously shocked, her wide magenta eyes betraying horror and guilt for driving the class down the wrong path.

"Patience! All will be revealed in due time! Anyway, the killer now gets to go free and you're all gonna be PUNISHED!" Monokuma grinned maniacally. "I can't wait, I can't wait!"

"...However, due to our motive this time around, there will be no executions," Twice butted in. "Remember, Monokuma? If the killer got away, there would be no punishments."

"Oh. Oooh. Aww..." Monokuma sighed. "Fine. You party poopers..."

"So," Hanta prompted slowly. "Who was... the killer?"

"Oh, the killer?" Monokuma smiled. "Oh, you never would've expected this...

"Yuga Aoyama, please come on down!"

***

_Yuga... was the killer?_

Horrified, shocked murmurs rippled around the trial room as Yuga stepped from his podium and approached Monokuma.

"Y-Yuga?!"

"Yuga... how could you..?"

"Him?! There's no way-"

Yuga himself was staring at his feet. His expression was dark, his lips drawn into a frown. He showed no sign of victorious joy, or any hint that he was excited or happy to be let free.

Denki couldn't believe any of it. "Yuga... how did you... trick us all..?"

Yuga didn't speak.

"Y-Yuga..." Izuku's voice broke as he stared at his friend. Denki glimpsed the shimmer of betrayal in his watery jade eyes.

"How could you?" Yaomomo whispered softly.

A beat of silence. Then-

"I... did what I had to," Yuga murmured.

That single phrase caused the class to immediately explode again. Denki was surprised by the difference between Yuga's reveal and Ochako's reveal, how Yuga was currently being yelled at while people cried over the latter. _Maybe we've all gotten over the grief part. Maybe we're all just hellbent on anger instead._

While his classmates sobbed and screamed at Yuga, and Twice and Monokuma watched in amusement, Denki continued to listlessly stare at the Model. _I wonder what his drive was... his family, perhaps?_

Suddenly, in a swirl of dark, shadowed purple, Yuga was gone. The screaming in the trial room instantly subsided to silence.

"Ah, that's that," Twice stretched and got up. "Kurogiri must've warped him off. Oh, yeah, look up there."

Denki trailed his eyes to where Twice was pointing. On one high ceiling of the trial room was a large, flatscreen monitor. It was reminiscent of the TV screens around the school that Monokuma and the villains broadcasted messages from.

The screen flickered to life. It displayed an image of Yuga and his family -parents and siblings- being teleported through Kurogiri's portal into the center of the nearby city. The family of bedraggled blondes stumbled and looked around frantically, obviously all confused and lost.

All except Yuga. He stared at his feet, perfectly unscuffed, his back to the camera.

People began pointing, screaming, and whispering. One civilian cried, "Isn't that one of the missing kids?" Another screamed, "Call the ambulance!" upon seeing the injuries on the tired former prisoners. Suddenly, a wail rose above the pedestrians' voices.

"The villains! The villains are coming! The villains- they'll put you into the Killing Game!" shrieked Yuga's younger sister. She couldn't have been any younger than seven or eight. She had messy, dust-streaked dirty blonde hair that draped over her shoulders and watering orange eyes. Her tears left clean streaks down her filthy face.

The bystanders began to panic again upon hearing this. Some ran up to Yuga's family to try and comfort them. Soon, an ambulance arrived, along with the police, and the family was whisked away in a storm of red and blue lights and sirens.

Then the monitor flickered to darkness.

"Well, that's that!" Monokuma grinned gleefully. "Off you go, now! Back to the school, through the elevator!"

As Denki sullenly loaded onto the elevator with the rest of the class, he couldn't help but think about just how lucky Yuga was.

_>Chapter 2: True-Red Murder Mystery : The End | Surviving Students : 20 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item obtained: Red Handkerchief<_


	15. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 1 - Daily Life

Shouto was exhausted.

It was the day after the trial, and the entire morning he'd stayed cooped up in his room, pondering over the case, racking his brain for possibilities on what could've really happened in that burning library.

_If Yuga was the killer... does that mean the Porcupine Bomber thing was a coincidence? No, that's just not right... there has to be... a solution..._

_But what if... that really is it? A coincidence; Kouji grabbed the nearest folder so he could leave his dying message, and it turned out to be the Porcupine Bomber one that led us to our conclusion. _

_Or, the more likely solution... is that Yuga set up that folder on the floor, and Kouji happened to put the dying message on it. Then what was the significance of the message? Secret Ven? Secret Identity? Secret... what, Secret Vent?_

_..._

_Oh..._

A sudden thought hit Shouto like a flash of lightning, a golden lightbulb. He jumped up from his seat at his desk, abandoning his messy notebook, and made for the door.

_I have to get out there and tell everyone... we_ _will solve this case, and we'll possibly unlock a new secret that could change this entire game..!_

He hurried down the hall. He'd come up with the ultimate theory, a solution so wild yet so plausible all at the same time. _As befitting of my title, too, huh..._

But as Shouto made his way down the stairs and reached the cafeteria, he heard an angry racket rising from the room. Intrigued and unnerved, he ducked in, only to see-

"I'm telling you, he's dangerous! A threat to all of us!" Mina was screaming.

"How could you turn on Katsuki so quickly?!" Eijirou yelled back. "Was all the time we spent together for nothing?!"

_Oh, he's siding with his boyfriend... I guess between yesterday and today, they figured it out._

"G-guys... she's got a point..." Denki stammered. "I mean, he has no problem killing hundreds and destroying entire buildings, so what's to say-"

"Shut up!" Hanta snapped in the blonde's face, causing him to wince back. "You don't know what you're saying!"

In the middle of all of it was Katsuki. He sat in a chair next to Eijirou, his eyes darting from the bold redhead to the electric blonde, clearly uncertain as his friends argued over the table. He didn't speak, instead opting to clench his teeth in frustration.

Shouto blinked and slowly shuffled back towards the wall, next to a potted plant by the door. Izuku was huddled behind the plant, anxiously watching the Bakusquad arguing. "What happened?" the Theorist asked softly.

"Th-They started fighting... I came in to see what was happening, and they were yelling at each other, so I just hid back here to watch." While Izuku was shaking, his eyes seemed completely alert as he watched his classmates, observing their expressions and noting their claims. He was absolutely captivated by the argument.

Shouto glanced around the cafeteria. Now he noticed several more people watching from the sidelines. There was Fumikage, of course, perched atop the half-wall and watching with sharp, hawk-like eyes. Then there was Mezou, crouching behind the same half-wall a few meters down. Mashirao and Hitoshi were standing together by the counters. Yaomomo quietly leaned against the wall, her expression betraying sadness. Mirio and Tsuyu watched anxiously from the other side of the door.

The fighting was reaching its peak. Denki was huddled behind a chair, while Mina continued yelling at Hanta and Eijirou. She looked ready to throw hands, while Eijirou's eyes blazed with such crimson-hot anger that Shouto was sure he would combust on the spot.

Finally, Mirio rushed forward, just as Mina rose her hand by her head in a fist. "Stop! Stop fighting!"

Everybody immediately had their attention turned to him. The room went dead-silent as Mirio broke up the squabble.

"Please don't fight!" he pleaded. "We can't allow another killing to happen! Do you guys want another one of your classmates to die?!"

"Yeah," Tsuyu murmured. She'd followed him out from the entryway. "Yes, you're right. We shouldn't fight. Have some hope." Somehow, her voice seemed more subdued than usual. Shouto thought he glimpsed light bags under her eyes, too. How had he not noticed before?

A murmur of mixed agreement and irritability spread throughout the room. Before long, the class began to disperse at Mirio and Tsuyu's prompting. However, Shouto could see that there was yet another rift in the group. Eijirou and Hanta flanked Katsuki, while Mina sulked off on her own, most likely to find some of her girl-friends. Denki rushed to join Hitoshi and Mashirao. Mezou and Fumikage went their own ways, alone. Shouto stuck by Izuku's side.

_This division... how much longer can we keep going like this?_


	16. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 2 - Daily Life

The following day, Yaomomo joined the others in the cafeteria for a morning meeting as appointed by another round of notes from Mirio and Tsuyu. She sat uncomfortably between Kyouka and Shouto, slowly eating a bowl of rice. The others were either dining alone or sitting in stony silence.

Much to Yaomomo's satisfaction, Katsuki and Eijirou had both decided not to show up. That made Hanta the only supporter of the Bomber present, which was slightly awkward for him, as Denki kept avoiding his gaze and Mina was openly glaring at him.

"Alright, team," Mirio called out, rubbing his hands together. Tsuyu stood in silence beside him, gazing out over her classmates with hazy jade eyes. "Time to investigate!"

"Investigate?" Kyouka echoed. "But isn't that trial... over?"

"Yes, but we never truly uncovered the case," Mirio retorted. "So, we're going to spend the morning investigating the library."

"Kurogiri, Shigaraki, and Monokuma have already cleaned out the library," Mezou said coldly. "There is no more evidence left."

"Oh. Good point..." Mirio sighed, hesitating. "I guess..."

"Wait! No! I have an idea!"

The class collectively looked up at the boy who had spoken out. Yaomomo blinked, wondering what intriguing thought he, an expert Theorist, had in mind now.

"Shouto?" Mirio looked up.

"Yesterday, I was thinking about the case," Shouto said. "And I came up with an idea! It's about Kouji's dying message. _Secret Ven..._ What if he meant Secret Vents?"

"Secret Vents?" A murmur of confusion rose from the group. "What does that mean?" Hanta questioned.

"Well, what if Yuga escaped the burning library after setting the fire through the vents? Crawled through and moved in the security of hiding in the ventilation system back to his room?" Shouto suggested. "Instead of the obvious -the emergency exit- he could've acted much more under cover by going through them."

"That is absurd," Mezou stated. "The vents? Can a human person even fit through those?"

"A skinny person, like Yuga, could," Shouto argued. "So Yuga set the fire, and escaped through the vents. Simple as that."

"What about that Bomber file?" Nejire asked.

"There are two possibilities," Shouto said slowly. "The more likely one is that Yuga set the file there for us to find, and Kouji happened to use it as a paper to write on. The other is that it was a mere coincidence, and Kouji happened to just grab that file.

"Regardless, he only needed a paper to write on; it's the dying message that was important, not the subject of the file," Shouto finished.

A stunned silence fell over the room; nobody was quite sure how to react to Shouto's theory. "So..." Mirio began slowly. "We should investigate that today, then. Come on, let's go right now."

The group traversed to the library. As promised from the villains, the mess was cleaned up and the shelves and books restocked. It was almost as if there had been no fire or murder at all. "Well, let's check it out," Fumikage said, breaking the mourning silence. He strode over to one vent cover.

Yaomomo and the others observed as he carefully took off the cover and removed the panel blocking it. He looked inside. "It's surprisingly deep; almost a meter down," he reported. He took off his trench coat and began sliding himself in in his short-sleeved T-shirt. Within moments, he landed lightly in the vent.

Yaomomo stepped forward and peered in. Fumikage was crouching in the vent and began crawling forward. It was the perfect size for a person to move through. "Hey, Fumikage, you can come out now," she called after a minute. The Nightwalker backed up and slid out, dusted himself off, and put the trench coat back on.

"It's clear. The vents are perfect for a single, average person to crawl through. It is likely these were Yuga's means of transporting himself out of here. He likely practiced going around the school beforehand and mapped out the system," Fumikage stated. "And on the night of the murder he left the library, closed the vents from the inside to keep in the heat, and retreated to his room. Nobody would've saw him."

Silence fell over the room. The fact that Yuga, the killer, had outsmarted his classmates and gotten away free with his family safe was outrageously unfair. Unfortunately, it was the truth. _The vents,_ Yaomomo thought. _How much more will they be used in our time here? How many more murders? How many less witnesses and evidence will we have? Heck, the killer could just dump a body in the vents and it might take hours, even days, to find it, all rotten and spoiled and lacking in evidence..._

"After this incident, I see it fit to declare the vents off-limits," Mezou suggested.

"But who would actually listen to a rule if they were conducting murder?" Tamaki questioned.

Mezou had no response to that.

"C-Come on, guys," Tsuyu cried. "Trust in each other a bit more!"

"Trust? Who gave _you_ the right to speak about trust? You don't know what it's like to be betrayed and used! You don't know how it feels to have your trust broken!" Mezou snapped at her.

Tsuyu met his glare evenly, standing her ground. Her fists were clenched in front of her ribs. "You don't know," she muttered, her voice cracking. "You don't know what I've seen..."

Mezou held his glare for a moment longer before storming off. Fumikage watched him disappear out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Yaomomo turned to Tsuyu. She was shivering despite the relative warmth of the room, her gaze having dropped to the ground.

_What did she mean there,_ 'You don't know what I've seen'_?_ Yaomomo wondered. _It's something important, I know that much... I've never seen her so shaken, except for the time after we rescued Katsuki and All Might died and she cried with us that evening on the lawn..._

Yaomomo gazed at her worriedly. "Ah, Tsu... What you said..."

"It's- It's not that important..." Tsuyu murmured. "For the greater benefit, it's not important at all."

"Whatever is bothering you is important to me, to us," Yaomomo said softly. "You're our friend." By now, every face in the room was watching her and the Swimmer. Tsuyu paused for a moment before raising her gaze from the rug floor. Yaomomo glimpsed the glitter of tears in her eyes.

"You know how the Body Discovery Announcement only activates after three people have seen it, excluding the killer?" Tsuyu asked. Yaomomo nodded. "Well, Yuga had been lying, of course. He was the killer, so if he somehow did glimpse the body through the window, it wouldn't count anyway. No, he didn't do that.

"It was me. I was the first person to see the body." Tsuyu's entire body was shuddering now. "Yuga... he kidnapped me from my room and dragged me through the vents... he let me see the body in the blazing library... and he told me, _if you tell anybody, I will kill you. Whether we're in the trial room or in investigation, I will strangle you until you draw your last breath."_ She took a shuddering breath. "I was... scared. So I didn't speak, _kero_..." Her words trailed off into a sob.

A hush fell over the class, broken only by the soft sound of Tsuyu trying to stifle her crying. Yaomomo gasped softly. _For Yuga to do such an uncharacteristic, horrible thing..._

"I-it's okay now, Tsu," Izuku cried. He rushed over to her to wrap her in an embrace. Although his back was to her, Yaomomo was pretty sure he was crying now, too.

Yaomomo stepped forward as well. "Yuga is gone now," she murmured as she ran her fingers through Tsuyu's dark, jade hair "You'll be alright."

_Everything will be okay..._

_...right?_


	17. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 3 - Daily Life

Mashirao noticed things.

Little things. Little things that worried him, that rooted in his heart, that pawed at his mind with their despair-ridden claws.

He noticed Denki's behavior changes. The electric male jumped when Mashirao approached him or called his name, or when someone began simply walking towards him, their footsteps echoing through the hall and instilling an instinctual panic in his system.

He noticed how Denki spoke a little too quickly, too nervously. He noticed how he averted his gaze a bit too much, too soon, too fearfully. He had lost his spark, both literally and figuratively, that spark that powered his friends, that electrified their hearts into action and unity.

At the very least, it seemed Hitoshi was sane. His eyes were dull, of course; they were clouded with grief for the class, a permanent mist that couldn't be parted nor broken by sunlight. But he wasn't broken, no, not yet; he wasn't despairing quite so soon.

_He hasn't really changed at all,_ Mashirao realized one morning while eating breakfast with him, Denki, and Tooru. _He's still trying, refusing to give up and succumb to despair._

And so the Martial Artist stuck by. He let Denki cower behind him, comforted him with gentle words. He let Hitoshi confide in him, stay by his side. And Denki allowed Hitoshi to soothe him with his presence. Together, they were a system.

The bubbling spark of their circuit was Tooru. The girl often hung around, showing sympathy and concern, comforting and trying to help them. But for some reason, her words just didn't register as deeply with any of them. It was like trying to stab a nail into a brick; it clangs off the surface and barely makes a mark.

But still, surrounded by his friends, Mashirao was content.

He still had some hope in him, and he wasn't about to let it go.

***

Izuku felt things.

Feelings he'd never felt before. They weighed in his chest like lead weights, melted in his soul, coldly dissolved his being until he was hollow.

_What is this feeling? Is it despair? Or is it something more, something darker, more personal..?_

_...I'm scared..._

_Is this what Monokuma and the villains were talking about?_

Izuku didn't want to fall. He didn't want it. He just wanted to be content and happy again.

So he stuck by his friends. Friendship was like a healing essence. Before, during hero work, it had always filled him with warmth and made his heart beat brighter and bolder.

Shouto walked step by step with him. Izuku could see the fractured light in his eyes, the stars made of fire and ice that were slowly extinguishing and melting in those perfect, heterochromious irises. They hung onto the light they thought they could see at the end of the tunnel, hoping, wishing, for a miracle, a rescue.

None came, but that was to be expected.

So the two hung on for dear life.

Ochako and Tenya were both gone. It was still unusual to Izuku. He'd been so used to hearing Ochako's laugh and Tenya's friendly yet commanding voices around him, that now, it felt like a part of the world had gone silent.

But Izuku knew, in his blackened heart, that they would want him to move on. Ochako would've wanted him to be happy. Tenya would've wanted him to be strong.

So he did. He stepped away from their lingering phantoms, held onto the brighter parts of life for their sake, since it was the least he could do for them.

Tsuyu sometimes came around, too. Izuku could see her slowly withering and drowning in her own shadow; her eyes were hazy and unfocused, her feet stumbling, her body drained. She looked so tired, tired of everything, tired of trying to instill hope into unresponsive, unwelcoming peers, tired of the killing. Tired of clinging onto all of her deceased demons. Tired of feeling fear, of hope, of despair. 

The only weight she was being alleviated of was her ever-present fear of Yuga. The entire class fawned over her, consoling and comforting her. She trusted everyone, and everyone loved her, so Izuku could say she was relatively safe. The girls often even slept in her room with her, barricading the vent door. They protected her from the monster under her bed, guarded her from the ghost of Yuga's image slinking out of the vent and taking her away.

But even their best efforts wouldn't be enough to dissolve the lead drapes of hope and despair and memory Tsuyu was carrying on her shoulders. 

She was trying, but Izuku could see right through her.

***

Mirio worried about things.

Things that bothered him, that only he could see because only he knew them well enough and stuck by them for long enough.

He was worried about Tamaki and Nejire.

Worried about their minds, worried about if they were falling into despair, worried if he could still light them up with the hope he so greatly cherished.

Tamaki was always jumpy and introverted, but never like this. He kept to Mirio and Nejire's sides, never leaving them, clinging on like his life depended on it. When they got out of here -Mirio liked to hang onto the hope of escape and rescue, ever since Yuga was sent out and most likely interrogated by the police and heroes-, he wondered if Tamaki would ever be able to go solo on a hero mission again.

Nejire was losing her shine. Her eyes had lost their light, her heart having lost some of its hope. She was wearing a mask, a mask of hope and life and unfazed, dancing stars. She kept it up; a little too well, even. But Mirio could see the despair settling over her skin like grime, like dust on a cracked porcelain doll wearing her best poker face, dressed to perfection but already falling apart.

Through the curtains of despair and the waves of shaded, clinging hopelessness, Mirio found himself doubting his actions within the realm of his own mind. Was he doing the right thing, trying to cling to hope? Was he doing the right thing, motivating the class, motivating a group of people too far gone to be rescued? He confided in Tamaki one night, only to receive the idolized reply he expected- of course Tamaki would say yes, would tell his most beloved that he was in the right. So he dropped the subject and confined it to the cage of his own brain.

Even if he doubted himself, there was one thing he was certain of.

He had a star of hope for his friends, for the two people he loved oh so dearly.

He believed in them.

He believed they'd get better even if he didn't, despite the fact that somewhere deep within his heart, he knew that a part of them was already gone.

***

Mei focused on building things.

Before, she hadn't even been sure of _what_ she was making. Her hands had flown out of instinct, hammering and nailing and putting things together. Her mind sped in circles, desperate to escape from the despair that chased her, like a mouse racing for its life from a feline.

Now, however, she had goal.

She knew what she was doing, for the first time in days. Her hands moved efficiently, with purpose.

While she focused mostly on her machine, a part of her was also concerned about her fellow girls. The group sometimes stayed in the lab with her, although she didn't even talk to them most days, so it was inevitable.

Little things bothered her. She never was much of a social bug, preferring to stick to her machinery in the lab, but she was observant enough to take note of changes in her peers.

Tooru... Tooru was strange. Her sudden change in personality during the trial had been frightening and absolutely bizarre, but even stranger was that she reverted right back to her previous self after the trial. 

She was now so energetic, Mei had decided that it was because of despair. She was always a little too bubbly, too bright, too... _there._ Her presence was so _loud,_ so present... and it unnerved Mei, to be entirely honest. She wasn't personal or direct; it was as if she were trying to help everyone, and in the process, helped no-one.

But at the same time, Mei couldn't help but find herself sucked in by Tooru's unmistakable public charm. She wasn't selective, or judgmental; she just helped everyone inclusively. Mei liked that a lot. She found them hanging out more and more, Tooru often staying behind after everyone else left.

Even if she could be unnerving, Mei trusted Tooru. She liked her charm, maybe a bit too much...

Kyouka was falling away from reality, it seemed. Her voice was always too quiet, her tone subdued and soft and unfocused, as if one ear and half her mind were in another world entirely. Whether it was because of despair or as a coping mechanism to the Killing Game, Mei didn't know. She didn't particularly care, either.

Mina had changed, drastically, ever since the whole situation with Katsuki. She was always a little off, acting sort of strange. She was always a bit angry, a bit too cold, as if all her malicious emotion for Katsuki was seeping into her general personality, until it engulfed her in its red maw.

Nejire was... too bright. She was always a bit too happy, too quick to jump into conversations, as if her senses were all off and her mind jumbled. She was a bit like Tooru, except the Artist was sweeter.

It bothered Mei, but she decided not to dwell on them. If they had the ability to keep up a happy, healthy outer appearance, that was good enough. It was better than most of the others, at least.

Yaomomo was the only sane one, it seemed. At the worst, she appeared extremely worried, but that anxiety was directed at her fellow peers, not at some distant concept. She loved her classmates, especially her friends and the girls, so it was only natural.

So Mei kept working.

It was the only way.

She knew that if she could complete her latest project and make it a success, it could mean escape for the entire class.


	18. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 4 - Deadly Life

Eijirou strolled down the hall on his way to the cafeteria, his mind blank. It'd been a few days since that argument, and frankly, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about the friends that betrayed him, betrayed Katsuki. Think about how easily they had split apart, as if their friendship meant absolutely nothing.

However, much to his surprise, just as he rounded the corner facing the kitchen door, the speakers crackled to life.

_Huh,_ he thought. _I wonder what it is. I mean, Monokuma hasn't talked to us in days, now... a motive perhaps? Great... the last thing we need is another killing._

The words that echoed through the hall next were not what he'd been expecting.

_"A body has been discovered!"_

A scream from the floor above Eijirou followed those dreadful words, confirming the cause of the announcement.

_That voice..._

"Denki," he muttered, his crimson eyes widening.

_"After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"_ Eijirou hastily turned on his heel and scrambled down the hall and up the stairs, hitting the floor and racing towards the direction Denki's continuous wails rose from.

And as he rounded the corner-

"Eijirou." Yaomomo turned to meet the shark-toothed teen's gaze. Her eyes were, almost surprisingly, dark with sorrow, which had since replaced the chiseled dislike that had edged her gaze for the past few days whenever she regarded Eijirou and his boyfriend.

"What happened?" Eijirou asked in a hushed tone. Denki, who was sitting in a ball next to the half-open door of a supply closet, gripped his hair in his hands and wailed again. His voice resonated eerily, buzzing through Eijirou's bones like earthquake tremors. Standing over him was Hitoshi, his hand on the blonde's shoulder. The Psychic's violet eyes were haunted. "Who- Who was it, Yaomomo?"

"Look for yourself." Yaomomo stared at her feet, her eyes glistening as she fought back tears.

Heart in his throat, Eijirou ran into the closet, bashing open the door, and-

His heart seemed to halt as he stopped dead in his tracks.

_Blood streaks all over the floor, slicking the boards in a layer of wet, pink marks._

_Dangling feet. A limp body, clothed in a dark purple sailor outfit._

_A rope hanging from an abandoned clothing rack rod high up on the wall, the end of it tied in a noose around the corpse's neck._

_A knocked-over stool._

_Wide, blank, dark eyes, their amber shine reduced to a shady haze._

_The lifeless, hanging body of-_

_"MINA ASHIDO IS DEAD!"_

Denki's scream ripped Eijirou from his daze. As reality set back into him, he felt a horrible chill pass through his body, turning his blood to ice and his bones to brittle branches.

"What... the..?

"...how?"

_Mina._ She had been so kind, so cheerful, so bright and full of life. She had changed so drastically after Katsuki's reveal that he'd almost forgotten the person she'd been before: an optimist, a joker, a dancer.

And she was dead. Gone. Erased from the world the moment she began her fall from grace.

Eijirou could barely comprehend the reality of it all.

Suddenly, the speakers crackled to life yet again.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"_

"Again?" Eijirou dimly heard Yaomomo say outside. "But..."

Another scream. It was clearer than Denki's from when Eijirou had heard it through the floor.

"No... Eijirou!" Yaomomo burst into the closet in a frenzied haste and grabbed his arm. "Come on- come with me!"

"Wh-" Eijirou had no time to even form a comprehensible word when Yaomomo had started dragging him down the hall. He stumbled and managed to get his feet under him, racing alongside her. "What- why?!"

Yaomomo didn't answer. And as Eijirou spotted the faint, speckled trail of blood on the floor tiles, the pieces suddenly fell into place inside Eijirou's mind.

Another Announcement.

Another scream.

_Another body._

And as they rounded the corner, for the second time that day, Eijirou felt his heart freeze in his chest.

Tsuyu, Tamaki, and Mirio were huddled with their backs against the wall. Directly across from them was the Nurse's Office Door. And on the floor between those two points-

_A pool of blood._

_A body lying on its stomach, a pink-splattered metal object's edge glinting from its place impaled within the person's side, the majority of it buried in skin and bloodstained cloth._

_Torn brown and yellow clothes._

_Dark hair. Closed eyes. Limp hands._

"H-Hanta..?"

Reality set in once again.

_Hanta Sero is... dead?_

_Dead?_

_..._

_Why?_

Eijirou couldn't move. He couldn't speak, couldn't think. He could only stare at Hanta's bloody body on the floor, the fluids painting the tiles pink.

_Kind, easygoing Hanta... The MVP of the class trials, Eijirou's friend, headstrong and loyal. Why is he lying on the floor, bleeding out his guts?_

_Why... why are two of my friends dead..?_

_Someone has killed Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero... Or is it someones? Two killers, whose timings synced by coincidence? Or was Mina's death a suicide?_

_Or both..?_

_Or-_

The footsteps of people, more and more classmates appearing, echoed dully in Eijirou's ears. The screams that followed were dull and muffled, as if he were underwater and someone were trying to get his attention from the world above.

"Eijirou. Eijirou!" The Bodybuilder was snapped out of his daze by someone shaking him by the shoulders. He looked up to meet the startling crimson gaze of Katsuki.

"Get a hold of yourself." Katsuki's voice was soft, his eyes blank. _It's almost difficult to remember that they were his friends, too._

_Almost._

Eijirou supposed it would hurt less if he didn't care quite so much.

"Pupupu, a double kill?" A maliciously cheerful voice suddenly piped up. Eijirou tore his gaze from Hanta's blood-soaked corpse to find Monokuma waddling over, tablet in his arms. _No..._

_Not again... to fight over this tragedy that bestowed our friends and execute another for the cause, it's too cruel..._

_It's all too cruel..._

***

Yaomomo steadily met Monokuma's teasing, robotic eyes. He was clutching a tablet; _the third Monokuma File._

"Pupupu, a double kill?" The monochrome teddy laughed, his voice robotic yet cruelly amused. "How fun! Just the slightest inconvenience, however, as our dear protagonist boy was slaughtered. We need a replacement! How about you, Yaomomo? Take this!"

"You've never actually given Hanta a File," Yaomomo observed dully as she took the tablet. "Despite him being your protagonist."

Monokuma laughed. "Pupupu... have fun, kids!" He waved and waddled away, disappearing around a corner.

Yaomomo stared at the file blankly. _Hanta had been a supporter of Katsuki's... but in the end, he was still Hanta. Clever, quick-witted, dorky Hanta._

_And Mina... she was strongly against Katsuki. Bold, strong Mina, who would've been a fantastic hero..._

_Of course, we always appreciate people most after they die..._

A silence hung over the students. "I suppose... we'll have to do the trial again," Yaomomo said slowly, carefully.

"Let us begin investigation," Fumikage announced coldly.

_>Investigation : Start!<_

"We should begin with the File," Tamaki said shakily. He was leaning against Mirio and trembling, his head lowered and eyes closed, as if trying to block out the grisly scene before them. "Yaomomo?"

"Ah- um, yes." Yaomomo hastily picked up the tablet and clicked it on.

_'Case III_

_Victims: Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero_

_Fatal Wound: Mina appears to have died due to a crushed windpipe._

_Other Wounds: There is heavy bruising on Mina's head._

_Weapon: The pair of scissors impaled in Hanta's abdomen is the cause of his death.'_

"It's... so vague," Yaomomo murmured. Fumikage scanned over the file with his sharp red irises, drinking in the information.

"There's a reason certain information is withheld," Fumikage said. "It must be because such knowledge would reveal key features of this case."

"So... if we unveil those hidden clues, we can solve the case?" Yaomomo further questioned.

"It seems so." Fumikage sighed. "Hold onto the File. We'll cover it in the trial." With that, he strode away and began inspecting Hanta's dead body in his usual manner.

Yaomomo lowered the tablet with a sigh, loosely holding it to her side. She decided she'd investigate the area around Hanta first, before checking in on Fumikage's work. She didn't think it'd be wise to try and determine anything solid on Mina without the Nightwalker's seemingly expert assistance.

She stared at Hanta's body from a few meters away. She surveyed his expression and upper body the most, trying to avoid looking at his fatal wound. _He looks... so scared. Sad, even,_ Yaomomo observed sorrowfully. _And his hand..._

_It's extended towards the Nurse's Office door..._

_Could it be that he was trying to make it to the Office? In addition to that trail... then that means..._

Yaomomo took a mental note and carefully skirted around Hanta's body to enter the Nurse's Office.

Inside, she looked around. It looked unsuspicious. Completely, perfectly unsuspicious...

_Keep looking,_ Yaomomo urged herself. _Even the most minor of details might be vital..._

She began scouring through the cabinets and drawers of medical supplies. _So many medicines and bottles..._

Then she found it.

An inconspicuous space in a cabinet, the medicine gone. Looking at the list on the inside of that cabinet door that read how many of each medicine were in it, she began counting each and every bottle. She realized, after a long count, that the missing container was-

-"Anesthetic liquid..?"

Yaomomo looked from the list to the cabinet again. Flanking the space were the two other bottles of the stuff.

_Hmm..._

Yaomomo put down her list and closed the cabinet before leaving the office. _I bet Fumikage is long done by now..._

She walked into the hall to find Fumikage kneeling by Hanta's body. Yaomomo couldn't help but stare at the mess of slick, pink blood all over his non-absorbent, leather gloves. But alongside the noticeably larger pool of blood around Hanta's corpse, there was something in Fumikage's hand that he was observing...

"Um, Fumikage?" Yaomomo stepped towards the body. "What did you find?"

"The murder weapon," he replied. "It's quite... unorthodox, I would say."

"What is it?"

Fumikage held up the object. It was soaked to the handle in blood, dripping in the liquid, the silver twin-blades coated in it-

"A pair of scissors."

Yaomomo stared at the fatal object. The tip was sharp; it was probably a pair used for cutting thread in sewing. _Where had the killer gotten it? Probably a supply closet or random drawer; the villains have practically weaponized every nook and cranny..._

"Umm... why wouldn't the killer use a more... reliable... weapon?" Nejire spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically soft and shaky.

"The scissors may have been chosen to be conspicuous," Fumikage explained. "So it wouldn't be suspicious if someone happened to see her with them. At the very least, it's less jarringly suspicious than, say, a knife."

"Huh. Okay." Nejire nodded and fell silent. She edged back towards Mirio and Tamaki.

"What else did you uncover?" Yaomomo asked Fumikage.

"Well... there are rope burn marks on Hanta's wrists and ankles. Other than that, not much. I have another theory, but in order to test it, I'd have to-" He suddenly cut himself off, eyes widening slightly.

Yaomomo blinked. "Have to what?"

"Never mind," Fumikage hastily brushed her off. "I'm going to go investigate Mina's body now. You may follow me if you'd like," he added to Yaomomo.

Yaomomo squinted dubiously at Fumikage's back as he strolled down the hall. _Suspicious..._ Nevertheless, she followed him.

As they walked, Yaomomo observed the blood trail that led down the hall, from Hanta's body to the closet, or vice versa. It was faint; some splatters here, a splash here, but nothing consistent.

Fumikage stepped into the supply closet. Yaomomo followed him inside, and immediately wished she hadn't. The blood all over the floor was creating a sickening scent, a horrible metallic stench of death as it aged.

Yaomomo watched, suppressing a gag, as Fumikage stepped over the pools of blood and approached Mina's hanging body. However, he stopped short there, and bent down to look at the stool.

"Yaomomo," he called. She carefully stepped over and gazed down at the stool. "Look at this."

Yaomomo did as he asked. Upon further inspection, she saw the smear of blood on its side.

"I thought it may be of consideration," Fumikage explained, setting the stool down. "Now, let us investigate Mina's body."

Yaomomo stepped back and watched Fumikage work, taking in the information he offered as he went through the analysis.

"Well, clearly, there's the rope. I would presume this to be her murder weapon. Ah, but here... there's a knot in this rope. A useless knot. Take that into notice," Fumikage added as he ran his gaze up and down the rope. "There's also a blood splatter on it... in a seemingly random middle part. Nowhere near the knot and noose itself."

"I'll think about it," Yaomomo murmured.

"And the body... hmm... ah."

"What?" Yaomomo looked up. "What did you find?"

"Bloodstains. There is a bloodstain on her hand. Across her palm, a dash over her purlicue. There are also blood smears on the soles of her shoes. Intriguing, hm? You said her only injuries were the bruises on her head, correct?"

"Correct."

"Hmm... remember that for the trial."

Fumikage kept working, inspecting Mina's body, confirming her head bruises in the process.

"Her neck... it appears something hard had been smashed into it to crush her windpipe. Oh, and Yaomomo, investigate around the room while I finish up this autopsy, alright?" He added. Yaomomo obliged dutifully, entering the room and poking around for clues.

And as she bent down in a corner, she found... something.

_A crumpled piece of duct tape,_ Yaomomo realized. _Could it be a massively vital piece of information...? No, that's unlikely... but it can't hurt to be careful. After all, it wasn't here before._

And as she brushed it off and continued digging through the boxes, Yaomomo found what could be the investigation equivalent of a gold mine.

"Two... bookbags?"

"You found something?" Fumikage suddenly appeared over Yaomomo's shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Ah! Um, yes. Look." Yaomomo gestured to the bookbags in an attempt to mask her embarrassment at being caught off-guard.

Fumikage knelt down beside her. "Hm. I don't think they were here before. Let's check inside them."

Yaomomo took one. Fumikage took the other. When Yaomomo opened hers, she immediately found-

-"A bunch of books?"

There were several books within the bag. There was an especially thick and heavy one on psychology. There was a dent in one of the corners.

"Just books, huh? What's in yours?" Yaomomo prompted Fumikage.

"...look at this."

Yaomomo leaned over. And within that bag was the missing bottle of anesthesia, as well as some cloth. It appeared slightly used, minor wrinkles in the light fabric. There was also a roll of duct tape.

"Ah, duct tape. I just found a small crumpled up piece in the corner. You think it has relevance?" Yaomomo asked.

"Possibly. Possibly... Yuga's case sure did have some coincidences, so there's no guarantee. But keep it in mind," Fumikage sighed.

"This appears to be all," Yaomomo said as the two set down the book bags. "Do you know anything else?"

"You mean my account?" Fumikage prompted. Yaomomo nodded.

"Well, I saw Hanta in the library an hour before his body discovery announcement, if that counts for anything. Oh, and I do believe he had a bookbag on him, one that resembled the ones we just found."

"Thank you," Yaomomo said after a pause. _Yes, that's helpful..._

"Oh, and... um... if you're looking for accounts, I have some information, too..."

Yaomomo's head snapped up. Her eyes met the sky-blue ones of Nejire. In the dim lighting of the closet, they were dull and subdued.

"What do you know, Nejire?" Fumikage questioned.

"Well, I saw Mina earlier. She was heading towards the library. She was acting sort of odd, so I asked if she was fine. She hastily said she was and continued on her way." Nejire sighed. "If only I had done something... then I could've prevented this..."

Yaomomo felt a pang of sympathy strike through her heart. "It's alright, Nejire. You alone couldn't have prevented any of this."

Nejire looked up, and the two girls simply gazed at each other for a moment, before a crackle over the loudspeaker interrupted them.

"Ahem! Investigation time is over! Students, please report to the trial room ASAP! We'll be waiting!" Monokuma laughed and shut off the announcement.

"Ah. It's time." Fumikage huffed and walked out the closet. Nejire and Yaomomo followed suit.

The entire class was gathered before the elevator in no time. Yaomomo glanced around, anxiety swirling in her stomach.

_Seventeen students... And one of us killed two people..._

_Who could possibly be so cruel as to kill two of their own friends?_

Yaomomo stepped onto the elevator with everyone else. It was so much roomier...

_And so it's happened again._

_A murder... the double murder of Hanta Sero and Mina Ashido._

_We must unveil their killer... and bring to light the truth._

_The truth..._

_This time, we'll find it._

_I'm sure of it._


	19. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 5 - Class Trial

"Upupupu! And so we've returned!"

Yaomomo glared up at Monokuma, who was seated on Kurogiri's lap on the velvet throne. The warping villain gazed down emotionlessly at the students; if masses of swirling indigo gas could even express emotion, that is.

"Everyone, please go to your podiums. The trial is beginning."

Yaomomo slowly stepped up to her place. Around the ring, there were another set of signs set up. In Hanta and Mina's places were a pair of profile shots of them with a red X drawn over their faces. _The signs of the dead._

And Yuga... Yuga's podium had no sign. It was just empty. Devoid.

_A reminder of his freedom. How he's alive, and free..._

"I assume you don't need a rerun of the rules, right? That'd just be a boring waste of my words! Any questions before we begin?"

"Ah, yes. Monokuma, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while..."

"What is it, Fumikage?"

"About the double-kill. Is there any rule about the number of murderers? Is it possible there were two killers?" Fumikage questioned.

"Hmm. One killer? Two? Who knows?! There's no rules about that, so good luck figuring it out yourself!" Monokuma replied cheerily. "Is that all?" He paused and noted the silence. "Good! Now let the third class trial begin!"

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"Let's begin this case with the Monokuma File. We can go from there," Fumikage suggested.

"Sure." Yaomomo pulled out the file and began reading through it. "The victims were Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero. Mina's fatal wound is a crushed windpipe, and there is heavy bruising on her head. The pair of scissors in Hanta's abdomen is his cause of death."

"Why is it so vague? It doesn't give half the information we need!" Eijirou wailed.

"That's because the information, if given, would provide the keys to the entire case. Isn't that right, Monokuma?" Fumikage implored.

"Yup! Right you are!" Monokuma grinned. "Your job is to solve those mysteries!"

"So we have to figure out who died first, Hanta's fatal wound, possibly any other wounds the two had, and the weapon used in Mina's murder," Yaomomo listed.

"But- but isn't Hanta's fatal wound the one inflicted by the scissors?" Tamaki asked quietly.

"But that one wound could've had any number of fatal outcomes," Shouto retorted. "It could have been blood loss over a prolonged period of time. It could be the piercing of a vital organ. Or, the scissors wound could be a red herring, and the killer used another, hidden means of murder."

The trial room fell silent after that. _So many options... how are we supposed to know which one is the correct one?_

"But first," Mirio spoke up. "I think we should clear up the order of the deaths first. It could prove crucial in the end."

"Good idea," Fumikage sighed. "Let us discuss."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Crumpled duct tape, Blood on closet floor, Monokuma File #3, Knot on rope, Stool, Blood on Mina's right hand, Rope<_

"So, who died **first?** Mina or Hanta?" Mirio murmured.

"H-how would we find out?" Tamaki asked. "Does the Monokuma File say anything about it?"

"Of course not, Chicken Face!" Katsuki barked. "That's what we're trying to find out!"

"Hey, don't yell at him," Mirio said threateningly to Katsuki. "Continuing, what about some clues from the scenes of the crimes?"

"Is it possible that Hanta and Mina's deaths are **completely unrelated** and there were two killers that just happened to kill at the same time?" Mei suggested.

"What if one of the kills happened **way before the other** and we just found the body now?" Nejire asked.

"Hey, I just thought of something." Shouto spoke up. "The blood on the closet floor... whose is it?"

"Well, no duh!" Katsuki snapped. "It's **Mina's!** Her body is in the closet, after all!"

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Monokuma File #3 : Counter!<_

"Huh? I'm wrong? How is that?" Katsuki asked angrily.

"The Monokuma File stated that the only external wounds on Mina's body were the bruises on her head. Fumikage can confirm that, right?" Yaomomo regarded the body inspector.

"Yes. There was severe bruising on her head, although it appears they weren't fatal blows, according to the File," Fumikage stated. "There were blood smears on the soles of her shoes and a stain on her hand. However, she has no open wounds. The blood is not hers."

"Then... does that mean... the blood in the closet was Hanta's?" Mei questioned.

"That seems to be it," Fumikage said grimly.

"So how does that tie back to the order of the deaths?" Tooru prompted. "The blood on the closet floor determines it?"

"I think so," Yaomomo said. "Mina's hand... it had blood on it. Hanta's blood."

"And what's that supposed to mean, though?" Tooru inquired. "Hanta's blood is near Mina's body, so he was stabbed in the closet. And his blood got on Mina's corpse. It doesn't solve anything!" she wailed.

_No, it definitely explains something... I have to show them..!_

_>Nonstop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Anesthesia, Two Bookbags, Bookbag One, Bookbag Two, Monokuma File #3, Nejire's Account, Fumikage's Account<_

"Just because Hanta was stabbed in the closet," Tooru began, "doesn't mean much."

"What do you mean by that?" Eijirou asked. "They were **killed in the same place."**

"Oh, it's possible for Mina to have died earlier, and her corpse was there, and Hanta happened to walk in," Hitoshi suggested. "And they had the same killer, who herded them both into the same place."

"There's many possibilities," Shouto acknowledged. "But there's one clear conclusion we can draw."

"Yeah! That Mina was **killed before Hanta!"** Mei declared.

"Mmh, that's not quite what I was going to say, but alright," Shouto murmured.

"So, if Hanta was killed after Mina... does that mean Hanta was stabbed in the closet **after Mina was hung?"** Mashirao questioned.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Blood on soles : Counter!<_

"Not quite," Yaomomo said slowly. "There was blood on the soles of Mina's shoes," she explained. "She had stepped in Hanta's blood. Therefore, she had not been hung, and was alive when Hanta was stabbed."

"Well, if Hanta had been stabbed and killed in the closet, how did his body get into the hallway?" Kyouka asked.

_How his body moved into the hall.... The clue that answers that question, it's..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet<_

_..._

_>Blood trail : I got it!<_

"The trail of blood leading from the closet to his body suggests he'd been killed in the closet and dragged into the hall," Yaomomo said.

"Alright, so we've figured out Hanta's death," Nejire spoke up. "But what happened with Mina?"

"Well, she was hanged, wasn't she?" Mei said. "She must've committed suicide!"

"Suicide?" Tooru tilted her head. "Um, doesn't that seem a little odd, considering the circumstances..?"

"No way! It's got to be a suicide!" Mashirao declared.

Squabbling immediately broke out in the trial room, people arguing for one side or the other.

_The answer of suicide... it's so straightforward, yet seems so wrong..._

"We're split down the middle..."

_"HOLD ON!!!"_

_>Break!<_

Everyone in the trial room collectively jumped and fell silent. Monokuma had leaped up and off of the throne. Kurogiri, who remained in his royal seat, appeared slightly irritated and very amused at how enthusiastic the rodent was being.

"Split?! Did you just say split?!" Monokuma was bouncing on his heels in excitement. "This is perfect!"

"U-um..." Yaomomo eyed the monochrome creature, confused. _Why is he so happy?_ "Monokuma, what are you doi-"

"Ahem! Now, I present to you our new morphenomenal trial ground!" Monokuma announced happily.

"Yes, I suppose it's time to use that," Kurogiri muttered from behind him.

_I'm... not sure what this is about, but... if it will help unite us... then I'll do it._

_For Hanta and Mina's sakes, and for all of the living..._

_>Split Opinion<_

Kurogiri threw a strange looking device to Monokuma. The rodent eagerly grabbed it, whipped out a key, and inserted it into the slot in the center of the device. It lit up, and the entire trial room seemed to glow from the veins of light running through it.

"H-hey, what's happening?" Izuku asked nervously.

"The trial grounds are morphing! This is cool," Mei grinned. "I wonder what type of tech goes into this..."

Suddenly, Yaomomo felt the ground shift under her. "GYAHH!"

The podium bases glowed and lifted off of the ground, ascending into the sky,

"Ooh! This is just like floating with my quirk!" Nejire exclaimed. "Except you can't control it."

The podiums shuffled among each other, creating two neat lines facing each other, and lowered back down. Below, the floor shifted to accommodate the rows.

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_Did Mina commit suicide?_

_Mina committed suicide : Shouto, Mashirao, Izuku, Mei, Mezou, Mirio, Tamaki, Kyouka, Denki,_

_Mina didn't commit suicide : Yaomomo, Tooru, Fumikage, Eijirou, Katsuki, Hitoshi, Nejire, Tsuyu<_

"Mina must've committed suicide by hanging," Mirio declared.

_"Tooru!"_

"But her cause of death wasn't from **hanging,"** Tooru replied.

"Her cause of death was a crushed windpipe, so it's possible for her to have been hung," Shouto stated calmly.

_"Fumikage!"_

"During my autopsy, it seems something being slammed against her neck crushed her windpipe. That's the **cause** of death," Fumikage retorted.

"Just because Mina had something smashed into her neck doesn't disprove the rope being used!" Mei claimed.

_"I got this one!"_

"Using a **rope** not for choking, _and_ leaving behind no rope burn is rather unpractical and unlikely," Yaomomo replied mildly.

"Mina committing suicide explains all of her injuries," Mezou said.

_"Tsuyu!"_

"Not all of her **injuries;** if she'd only been hung, that wouldn't explain the bruises on her head," Tsuyu said.

"Mina must've felt pressured from her argument with Katsuki, so she committed suicide," Kyouka suggested.

_"Nejire!"_

"But last I saw her this morning, she was acting completely normal! She wasn't **suicidal!"** Nejire shot back.

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>A - W - D - A<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"Guys! It's obvious Mina didn't commit suicide!" Yaomomo announced.

"I agree with her. Mina's cause of death, behavior, and injuries all do not line up with the simple explanation that she hung herself," Fumikage said.

"We have to work together if we want to solve this case," Tsuyu murmured.

"Well, if she did not commit suicide, that must mean her killer set her body up after she died to make it appear so," Shouto concluded. "If that's the case, then we must figure out what her murder weapon was, next."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Monokuma File #3, Fumikage's Account, Fumikage's Autopsy, Two Bookbags, Bookbag One, Bookbag Two, Anesthesia, Scissors, Rope, Stool<_

"S-so, Mina was killed from blunt force to her neck, crushing her windpipe," Tamaki began. "According to Fumikage's autopsy, that is."

"If that's the case, what was the weapon?" Nejire inquired.

"Something **sharp,** I bet!" Mashirao stated.

"I still think it was the rope," Mei announced boldly.

"Um, I'm not a sure a rope could be used for blunt force," Denki stammered.

"Well, maybe the killer just used something and **took it away** from the murder site," Kyouka suggested.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Two Bookbags : Counter!<_

"There must've been something on site that could've been used in killing Mina. There's a lot of stuff inside of the two bookbags we found," Yaomomo said.

"What was in the first one, the one I looked in?" Fumikage prompted.

_In the bookbag Fumikage investigated... there were three items._

_I can.... I must remember..!_

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Roll of duct tape, anesthesia, cloth : Break!<_

"There was a roll of duct tape, anesthesia, and a cloth from the nurse's office," Yaomomo said. "I recall there was a bit of crumpled up duct tape in the closet. Right, Fumikage?"

"Yes, indeed. Now, the cloth and anesthesia are easy to explain and go hand in hand. The killer used it to sedate their victim," Fumikage said. "However, whether that victim was Mina or Hanta, that is unknown. Now, go on. What about the second bookbag, Yaomomo?"

_The second bookbag... There was something, something important..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Books : Break!<_

"There were a bunch of books in there, right? A particularly thick one on psychology, one on arachnids, and one on modern architecture, if I remember correctly," Yaomomo said.

"Yes, that's right. The psychology book with the dented corner, the arachnids encyclopedia, and the architecture textbook. Out of all these items, the books seem likely to be weapons," Fumikage said. "They're hard objects that can cause blunt force trauma. They could also be used to explain the bruising. The killer could've easily bashed Mina on the head with a book before slamming it onto her neck when she's vulnerable."

_How cruel..._ Yaomomo thought sadly. "And then they hung her up with that setup?"

"Yes, to throw us off the scent."

"I think we should go over what we know about the case right now," Mirio suggested. "Get a grip on this case again. Then we can tie up all the loose knots."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets : Crumpled duct tape, Stool, Pool of blood, Scissors, Nejire's Account, Fumikage's Autopsy, Two Bookbags<_

"So, **this morning,"** Shouto began. "The killer somehow got Mina and Hanta into that closet."

"And they stabbed Hanta with the scissors," Izuku continued. "Mina stepped in his blood."

"The killer followed to crush Mina's neck with a book. They hung her up to **fake a suicide,"** Hitoshi said. "And Hanta was somehow moved into the hallway."

"So the questions that remain are," Nejire spoke up. "Hanta's cause of death, and any other wounds he may have."

"Hanta... he **didn't have any marks on his body** other than the fatal wound, right?" Mashirao said.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Fumikage's Autopsy : Break!<_

"According to Fumikage's autopsy, there were rope burn marks on Hanta's wrists and ankles," Yaomomo said.

"Rope burn..." Tamaki mused. "Rope... L-like the rope used to hang up Mina?"

"What-" Eijirou's eyes widened. "-are you implying..?"

"What if it's the same rope? The one used to hang Mina, and the one that was at one point tying up Hanta?" Shouto theorized, doing what he did best. "I mean, it may actually make sense."

"The rope... it had blood on it, as well as a knot," Yaomomo said. "It's possible the killer tied him up, stabbed him, got blood on the rope, untied him and accidentally left a knot on the rope, killed Mina, and hung her up."

"That's... confusing," Denki said slowly.

"But it makes sense, I guess," Tooru said. "Reusing the rope in both kills."

"It also proves that Hanta and Mina's deaths are undoubtedly connected," Kyouka said.

"Connected... and to what extent?" Fumikage suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Yaomomo asked. "What do you know, Fumikage?"

"Think back to what I said earlier, when I was giving you my account. Where was Hanta before his death?" Fumikage asked.

_Hanta... his location prior to his death..._

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_Where was Hanta directly before his death?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_>LIBRARY : I got it!<_

_>Break!<_

"That's right... Hanta was in the library directly before his death, right?" Yaomomo asked Fumikage.

"Yes. And I was there to see him. He was taking out books. He was carrying a bookbag, strikingly similar to the one we found in the closet. And the sections he went in," Fumikage explained. "Were the health aisle, nonfiction aisle, and architectural aisle. Do those titles seem similar?"

"Health, nonfic, and architecture..." Izuku mused. "And the bookbag in the closet... a psychology book, arachnids book, and an architectural book. They match up perfectly."

"So the one bookbag was Hanta's. It consisted of all the books. And?" Tooru summarized.

"A book was used to kill Mina, right?" Shouto murmured conspiratorially. "And the books were Hanta's. So what if... Hanta killed Mina?"

A wave of silence rolled through the trial room. Yaomomo herself was confused. _Hanta? Killed Mina?_

"H-hey, hold on," Denki cut in. "That makes no sense! _Hanta_ killed Mina? The books don't prove anything! What if the killer just took them from him after killing him?"

"That's possible," Yaomomo said slowly. "But look at it this way for a moment. It may make sense."

"So Hanta kills Mina by killing her with a book. Then what? Some other shithead stabbed Hanta? Who did it?" Katsuki spoke up.

Silence. Then-

"...Mina."


	20. Chapter 3 : Third Time's a Pinky Promise - Part 6 - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: sp*ders (execution)

"What?" Everyone, including Yaomomo, turned to Shouto in alarm. "Mina? How?"

"There was blood on Mina's hand. It's possible she could've killed him. And after stabbing him, she could've stepped in his blood. That's why his blood is on her," Shouto said.

"Ah... that makes sense. So Mina killed Hanta, and accidentally got his blood on her-"

_"Wait up!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold on, Didn't Mina die first?" Mei exclaimed.

"That was our original assumption," Yaomomo replied calmly.

"But even with our current assumption, it doesn't add up! Hanta killed Mina and Mina killed Hanta both at the same time?! Then how did Hanta's body move, and Mina get hung up? It doesn't make sense!" Mei declared.

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Mei Hatsume : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Anesthesia, Scissors, Rope, Pool of blood, Nejire's account, Crumpled duct tape, Blood on closet floor, Monokuma File #3, Fumikage's Autopsy<_

"Nothing makes sense! Mina killed Hanta?! Hanta killed Mina? But Mina was killed first! How could she and Hanta kill each other at exactly the same time? Plus, following that logic, the bodies moved on their own, which is obviously impossible," Mei said.

"Whoever said they had to die at the same exact time?" Yaomomo countered.

"How else could they die? Mina getting hit on the head was fatal, and the **scissors killed Hanta instantly!"**

_"I will cut through your words!"_

_>Fumikage's Autopsy : Cut!<_

"There's no proof that the scissors killed him instantly. Fumikage stated that the scissors were most certainly the fatal wound, However, it might not have been deep enough to kill immediately. Fumikage didn't have the chance to check that. Blood loss, or the scissors shifting and cutting a vital organ, may have been his demise," Yaomomo explained.

"But the File said the scissors impaled in Hanta's abdomen were the cause of death!" Mei wasn't giving up.

"Then it's possible Hanta made a movement too sharply with the scissors still in the wound, and it moved to slice a vital organ, or major artery," Yaomomo countered.

"Well, why would he leave the scissors in, in the first place?" Mei shot back.

"Because if he had removed the scissors, the blood flow would not have been stemmed," Fumikage cut into the two girls' back and forth. "The scissors being left in the wound, if carefully held still, would have stemmed blood flow.

"However, he must have been too rash, and the blades shifted within his side, slicing an internal organ or artery and sealing his fate."

"Oh... I see. Fine then," Mei said, admitting defeat.

"So our current theory is that Hanta and Mina killed each other," Izuku spoke up. "Mina tied up Hanta and stabbed him. Hanta woke up and retaliated with his book. He set up her body and left the room, before dying down the hall."

"So it's just a theory," Hitoshi concluded.

"Well, it's the most plausible one yet, and covers everything, actually," Shouto retorted. "The blood in the closet, the rope burns... even the bookbags."

"Huh? The bookbags?" Tooru looked up. "How is that explained?"

"There were two bookbags in the closet, right? The second was Hanta's. The one with the books," Izuku explained. "So the first bookbag... doesn't this make that..."

_The person the first bookbag belongs to... it's..._

_>Choose an answer!_

_Fumikage Tokoyami_

_Nejire Hadou_

_Mina Ashido_

_Bakugou Katsuki<_

_>Mina Ashido : I got it!<_

"The bookbag with the duct tape, cloth, and sedatives... that's Mina's, isn't it?" Yaomomo said. "If she's the other party of this case, then it would make sense to be hers, as it contains the sedatives."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense-"

_"Your logic is flawed!"_

_>Break!<_

Yaomomo whirled to face Mashirao. _Now what?_ "What is it?"

"Just because the other bookbag was there doesn't automatically make it Mina's! We don't know for sure yet!" Mashirao declared boldly. "Come on, try and change my mind if you can!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Mashirao Ojirou : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Stool, Rope, Monokuma File #3, Fumikage's Autopsy, Nejire's Account, Scissors, Crumpled duct tape<_

"Alright, I'll admit, saying Mina stabbed Hanta and that Hanta killed Mina is reasonable," Mashirao began humbly, before quickly going on the offensive. "But that doesn't automatically make the other bookbag in the closet hers!"

"What would've a random bookbag been doing in the closet if it wasn't one of the victims'?" Yaomomo prompted. "If it was yet another person's, they would have spoken up by now."

"What if it was Hanta's?" Mashirao brought up. "The bag with the books **was full** because of the thick encyclopedias. What if he took a second bag to hold his other murder equipment?"

"But following our theory, Hanta wouldn't have had to use the sedatives and duct tape. We have no evidence for it," Yaomomo retorted.

"Well, yeah." Mashirao paused. "But there isn't any **evidence of Mina ever obtaining a bookbag** in the first place, either!"

_"I will cut through your argument!"_

_>Nejire's Account : Cut!<_

"Earlier, Nejire told me that she saw Mina heading to the library. The library is where the bookbags are located. She could have easily gone in and taken it then. Actually, she probably went to the library for that very reason!" Yaomomo deduced.

"Nejire, did this actually happen?" Mashirao turned to the blue haired girl.

"Yeah. I saw her," Nejire replied, her voice growing softer as she remembered the last time she saw her friend. Yaomomo caught Mirio and Tamaki shooting her concerned, sympathetic looks.

"I see. Sorry, Yaomomo," Mashirao sighed.

"It's fine. And it helped clear this whole thing up, too. As of now, it's perfectly reasonable for Mina to be the owner of the first bookbag," Yaomomo said.

"But we need more evidence!" Eijirou retorted. "It's not a solid enough conclusion to stand on, yet!"

_We have all the evidence we need... we just have to piece it together,_ Yaomomo thought. _I have to.... I have to show them!_

_I see it... I can see the story coming together..!_

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: Who originally brought the rope, and for what purpose?_  
_Left: Hanta, to kill Mina._  
_Right: Mina, to tie up Hanta._  
_Right : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What did Mina use to help her tie up Hanta easier?_  
_Left: Books and Duct Tape_  
_Right: Anesthesia and Duct Tape_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: How did Hanta get free to attack Mina?_  
_Left: Mina tied him up too loosely._  
_Right: Mina forgot to tie him up._  
_Left : Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: Mina, to tie up Hanta._  
_Question 2: Anesthesia and Duct Tape_  
_Question 3: Mina tied him up too loosely.<_

_>Break!<_

"We don't need any more evidence... I think I've figured out the story," Yaomomo said, her revelation giving her confidence in her deduction.

"Oh? Please do share it with us," Shouto prompted.

"Well, Mina was the one who originally wanted to kill, since she brought the rope," Yaomomo said. "She attacked Hanta with the anesthesia, soaking the cloth with it to cover his mouth with it and knock him out, so that it was easier to tie him up. She must've put the duct tape over his mouth to make sure that if he awoke, he wouldn't scream."

"I do recall a crumpled up piece of duct tape in the corner," Fumikage affirmed.

"However, Mina must've tied him up too loosely, in a hurry. He woke up, likely when she stabbed him, and got free. He hit her over the head with his book, before slamming it into her neck. The rest is history," Yaomomo concluded sadly.

"One thing, though," Mirio spoke up. "The blood trail in the hallway... we said before that that trail was Hanta's. With this information, does that mean..?"

"Yes. Hanta was not killed in the closet, so he must've gotten up and walked down the hall, trailing blood as he went. And he died in front of his destination, the Nurse's Office," Fumikage said.

"Now that we know what happened, we should go over the case once more now," Tsuyu prompted, "Just to make sure we covered everything."

Yaomomo nodded in agreement, recalling what Hanta had done in the first two cases.

_"Wait!"_

Yaomomo stared at Eijirou. His crimson eyes pierced into hers, his gaze a mixture of sorrow and desperation. _Of course. They were both his friends. He can't stand the thought that they'd kill each other..._

"Hanta and Mina... they'd been friends! Why would they kill each other? Or, should I say, why would Mina target _Hanta_ of all people?!" Eijirou wailed. "It doesn't make sense!

"None of this makes sense! And that's why... I can't stand to see this be taken as fact! Because if we... if we get this wrong... we're all going to die! We're going to die, just like so many of our classmates and friends already have!"

Yaomomo stared at Eijirou. The redhead had tears in his eyes, but his stance was as determined and headstrong as ever.

"Come on, convince me! Prove your story is true!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Eijirou's Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1<_

"Why would Mina target him?!" <> (W) (W) (W)

"It makes no sense! <> (A) (A) (A) (A)

"They were the best of friends..." <> (W) (W) (A)

"So why would they even think to kill each other?!" <> (D) (D) (D) (D) (W)

_>Advance : Phase 2<_

"Why do you keep insisting?" <> (S) (S) (S - Hold)

"I knew them too well..." (A) (A) (A - Hold)

"They would never do such a thing!" (W-A-S-D)

"You have to listen to me!" (W) (W) (W - Hold)

"I don't want to die here..." (D) (D) (D - Hold)

"...All because you thought those two would ever hurt each other!" (W-A-S-D)

_>Final Blow!<_

_>W: Ment_  
_A: Squad_  
_S: Baku_  
_D: Argu<_

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Mina and Hanta were the best of friends! It's impossible that they'd kill each other!"

_"I got it!"_

_>S-A-D-W : BakuSquadArguMent : Break!<_

"Hanta and Mina... they were both part of Katsuki's friend group, right? They called themselves the Bakusquad," Yaomomo said to Eijirou.

"Yeah! We were all so close... there's no way..!" Eijirou sobbed, his voice cracking.

"Remember, after the trial... that argument in the cafeteria..." Yaomomo said. "You guys were fighting. Hanta and Mina were on opposite sides. Hanta was defending Katsuki. Mina was against him. Maybe Mina saw Hanta as threatening and attacked him."

"Then why didn't she attack Katsuki? He's the cause of their problem," Mei pointed out.

"Back in that argument, remember what she said?" Yaomomo asked.

_~*Flashback*~_

_"I'm telling you, he's dangerous! A threat to us all!" Mina was screaming._

_~*Back to Present*~_

"She saw him as dangerous and a threat. He would've been too risky of a target for her," Yaomomo continued. "So she chose one of his supporters instead."

"Katsuki's supporters were Eijirou and Hanta, right? And Denki was Mina's ally," Nejire said.

"So... why not Eijirou?" Tooru asked.

"Because Mina was closer to me than Hanta," Eijirou said slowly. "She's known me since junior high, while she's only known Hanta since the start of the school year."

"So she chose Hanta because she didn't want to kill Eijirou..." Tamaki murmured. "So technically, Hanta's identity was never the reason he was chosen to be killed. His lack of a long-term relationship with her was what did it."

A short silence followed his words. Yaomomo tossed her thoughts over in her mind.

_The Bakusquad Argument... caused by Katsuki's crimes... was the cause of the death of two of our classmates._

_At this rate, how many of us will Katsuki manage to kill?_

"Anyway," she decided to break the quiet, keeping her voice steady. "Let's go over this case once more, before putting in our final votes."

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

"This morning, Mina began her plan to kill Hanta. She went to the library to pick up a bookbag, before gathering her supplies. This included anesthesia from the nurse's office, a cloth for the drugs, duct tape, and some sharp thread scissors. She put it all in the bookbag to appear unsuspicious.

"Meanwhile, Hanta also visited the library this morning. He went to take out books. He checked out three particularly thick and heavy books, put them in a bookbag, and headed out, going up the stairs, most likely on his way back to his dorm.

"Mina found Hanta on the fourth floor and attacked him, knocking him out with the anesthesia. She dragged him into a supply closet and got to work tying up his ankles and hands with rope. However, she was most likely in a rush and didn't tie the bounds particularly tightly.

"She put duct tape over Hanta's mouth to muffle his screams, in case he roused, before stabbing him in the side with her thread scissors. Unfortunately for her, the blow didn't hit anything vital, instead only causing excessive bleeding. Mina didn't know that though. She may have dropped her guard, because at that moment Hanta woke up.

"Hanta struggled out of his bindings, grabbed his bookbag, and used one of his heavy books to hit Mina on the head. Dazed, Mina was left vulnerable, and Hanta took the opportunity to continue attacking her.

"He slammed the same book onto Mina's neck, crushing her windpipe and killing her. Now bleeding and running completely on adrenaline, Hanta began setting up the crime scene.

"He unbound his legs and used the rope to hang up Mina. He placed a knocked-over stool under her as well, to make it look like a suicide, while smudging his own blood on it by accident. He ripped the duct tape off of his face and crumpled it up, throwing it in the corner. He also hid his and Mina's bookbags, hastily tucking them behind some boxes.

"His work done, he began making his way out of the closet and down the hall towards the Nurse's Office, trailing blood the entire time. However, he was just a moment too late. Outside of the Nurse's Office, he collapsed, and the wound finally got to him. He died in arm's reach of the Office. The cause of death is unsure; it may have been the blood loss finally registering after his adrenaline wore off, or the scissors shifted in the wound and struck a vital organ, but whatever the case is, he died, sure as day.

"That is the story, the truth behind this case! In this double death, the killers... were the victims themselves! Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero were the culprits the entire time!"

_>Break!<_

"So that's it, huh..." Mezou murmured. "We should begin voting, now."

Yaomomo half-expected there to be more opposition at the voting by the remaining members of the Bakusquad, like Eijirou had when she was about to start the Closing Argument. However, that wasn't the case.

Katsuki stared, uncharacteristically silent, at his feet, hands in his pockets. Eijirou defeatedly gazed at something on the railing of his podium, his crimson eyes glazed over. Denki's arms were wrapped around himself, and he subtly trembled, his eyes shut.

"Hey, um, Monokuma," Tooru spoke up, turning to the artificial bear. Monokuma perked up at her voice. "Since there are two killers... who do we vote for? We can't vote for two."

"Oh! I forgot to mention! In all double kills, vote for the killer of the first body discovered!" Monokuma grinned.

"Fine then," Yaomomo remarked. "Let's vote."

She stared down at her voting lever. She took it and pointed it at Hanta's podium, which was occupied by the sign with his X-ed out profile shot. _Since Mina was discovered first... Hanta is the one to vote for._

The voting concluded, the machine was spun, and it landed on Hanta Sero with cheerful blinking lights and a short, happy victory tune.

_>Class Trial : End!<_

"Puhuhu! You were all right this time! How fun!" Monokuma smiled widely, baring his sharp little teeth.

"We were... right..." Eijirou murmured, eyes still glazed and fixed on nothingness. Katsuki's shadowed gaze was lowered. "Mina and Hanta... they did kill each other..."

"Yup!" Monokuma affirmed all-too-cheerily.

"Even them... two once-close friends... they fell into despair, and killed each other," Nejire remarked slowly, softly. Yaomomo wondered, in a flash of horror, if the Beauty Pageant Star was relating this revelation to her own friends, Tamaki and Mirio. _She has a good point, but it's unlikely for those two to get into a fight and kill. It's just... different..._

"Puhuhu! It's a Killing Game! Anything can happen!" Monokuma laughed sadistically. "Now then, it's time to get to the execution! I'm getting impatient, and there's nobody for the lot of you to yell at this time around!

"I have prepared a very special punishment for Hanta Sero, the Ultimate Arachnologist, and Mina Ashido, the Ultimate Dancer! Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiit's PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!"

***

_>GAME OVER_

_Hanta Sero and Mina Ashido have been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

The execution took place in the center of a large, bleak, yellow field. The grass was short and dry, wavering slightly in the faint artificial breeze. Above, the sky was a flickering projection, a vast sheet of dark indigo, speckled with artificial stars. The moon was nowhere to be seen; the only light in the chamber was the small set of streetlights in the corners.

Denki stiffly watched in horror as a podium rose into the center of the field. A large case sat atop it. Monokuma ran into the field and opened it with grandeur, sending up a plume of cold mist.

Inside the frozen case were two corpses, preserved by the low temperature. Hanta and Mina's dead bodies were deposited, dropped onto the grass before the open door. Monokuma shut the case and the podium lowered back into the ground.

_>Hanta Sero and Mina Ashido's Execution: Feeding Time for the Creepy Crawlies!<_

As Monokuma raced off the field and a couple of sleek metal claws reached in from the ceiling -which opened up-, Denki noticed the two stakes each about a meter to the left and right of the corpses. A claw plucked up Hanta's body and brought him to the left stake. The machinery effortlessly tied him up. The claws followed to do the same to Mina, tying her to the right stake.

As the technology retreated off of the field, the eeriness of the scene struck Denki with a pang. Two of his friends, now both dead, were tied to a pair of stakes in the middle of a silent field, a moonless night over their heads. Even the streetlights seemed to dim, casting only a blurry fog of light onto the killers' faces.

The field was silent. The room seemed to be holding its breath, before the horror truly began.

Beneath the left stake, out of the earth crawled what seemed like a million tiny spiders. The black wave swarmed over Hanta's body, crawling up his corpse. He became engulfed in a mass of skittering black arachnid bodies, devoured by the creatures he'd so passionately studied in his livelihood. Denki could practically hear the spiders munching away, at cloth, skin, bone, flesh...

_He thought he was going to be sick. _

The entire crowd of remaining students could only watch, eyes glued, horrified, as the speckled swarm of arachnids ate Hanta's corpse. 

When the horrible things retreated, back into their home in the ground, there was absolutely nothing left on the stake. 

The horror then quickly moved to Mina, whose whole corpse was still tied up on the right stake. A panel on the ceiling slid open, revealing a cage wall. The door clicked and fell open, allowing a murder of crows to fly into the field. The grimy black birds cawed and bore down upon Mina's corpse, landing on it.

The flock began pecking at the body. Between masses of feathers and shiny beaks and talons, Denki could see blossoming holes in Mina's clothes and patches of off-color flesh being revealed by the birds' incessant hunger.

Mina's body was demolished just like Hanta's, but agonizingly slower. Denki watched helplessly as the birds pecked at and fed on the corpse. How they could stand feeding upon a body that'd been dead for hours, he wasn't sure. Actually, when he thought about it, the creatures were both probably miniature Nomu, rather than actual animals; artificially created to do the villains' bidding.

When the crows retreated, flocking back into their cage in the ceiling, all that was left was a clean skeleton and scraps of purple fabric and blue ribbon on the ground from Mina's sailor outfit. The birds apparently had a smaller appetite compared to the spiders. Or they were just pickier.

The streetlights flashed slightly, casting their eerie light upon the two stakes -one standing alone, one bearing a figure of bones- before flickering out entirely, casting everyone in darkness.

The remaining students were beginning to react to the execution they'd just witnessed.

Several students screamed. Others huddled or fell to their knees in despair. Denki dearly hoped nobody would vomit quite so soon as a response, although his own stomach was flipping uncomfortably.

Some jumped to cling to each other for comfort. Denki felt someone hastily grab his arm out of panic, causing him to jump. He guessed it was Kyouka by her mild scent gracing his senses.

"Upupupu! Wasn't that just incredible?!" Monokuma laughed in the dim, causing a Denki to flinch. "Beautifully gruesome, huh, huh?"

"Y-y-you're a monster!" Yaomomo wailed. "To toy with their dead bodies like that..."

"Eh! It's all in the name of fun, right, Kurogiri?!" In the darkness, Denki's eyes landed on the bear's glowing red eye. Monokuma presumably turned to the Warp Gate man.

"Sure," Kurogiri replied. He opened a shimmering portal. "Come on, now, Monokuma. The trial and execution are over. Students, you are dismissed."

Monokuma grinned at the class before jumping through. Kurogiri closed it before warping himself. They both vanished.

The class began to silently, numbly, make their way to the elevator. Denki himself glanced back towards the dark field once more before re-entering the all-too-bright trial room.

_Oh, Hanta, Mina..._

_Why were they the ones to fall to the villains?_

The class boarded the elevator.

_We've lost so many to this game already._

_Tenya. Rikidou. Ochako. Kouji. Mina. Hanta._

_And Yuga is free._

As Denki dragged his gaze over his classmates in the elevator, he thought sadly, _In this unjust world, we all must cope in our own ways, it seems._

_>Chapter 3: Third Time's a Pinky Promise : The End | Surviving Students : 18 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item obtained: Pair of Severed Horns<_

_>Item obtained: Brown and Orange Bandanna<_


	21. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 1 - Daily Life

"Hey, Pikachu?"

Denki jumped in his seat on the sofa, nearly dropping his English novel. He looked up, sweat immediately breaking out on his neck. He relaxed -only slightly- when he realized it was just Katsuki. The ash blonde was sitting next to Eijirou on a couch across the sitting area. The redhead's arm was draped over his boyfriend's shoulder, their thighs brushing.

The three remaining members of the Bakusquad were reading in the library together. It was a mere two days after Mina and Hanta's trial, and the horror of their execution was not finished with haunting Denki quite yet. He found himself unable to sleep at night, and when he did, he slipped into a fitful rest plagued by nightmares of spiders and crows and rotten corpses.

In addition to the night horrors, Denki found himself gnawing over the very nature of Mina and Hanta's deaths. They, two close friends, had turned on each other and murdered in cold blood.

He didn't know who to trust anymore.

Denki himself had been against Katsuki and Eijirou in the argument. He wasn't sure if they truly trusted him after Mina's crime. He noticed the slight, wary glances Eijirou gave him. He noticed Katsuki jumping to not be in the same room with him alone.

It was as if they were _scared_ of _him._

_In actuality it's most certainly opposite..._

"Wh-what?" Denki blinked, meeting Katsuki's steady gaze.

"You don't have to be so distant, y'know," Eijirou piped up. "Why don't you come over and join us? The past two days, all you've done is follow us. Are you scared? Because..." he paused. "Because we are too. It's okay, Denki."

Denki was surprised by the raw honestly of Eijirou's words. He had just admitted he was as frightened as he was, and that easily. _Maybe he does trust me._

But that didn't mean Denki completely felt the same.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks." Denki shut his book and set it on the table. "I'm thirsty. I'll be going to the cafeteria. See you guys later." He hastily took his leave, while consciously trying not to move too quickly.

He entered the cafeteria, moving to the beverage vending machine. He had found out, way back before Rikidou's death, that the machine didn't require any money to operate. You just had to punch in the numbers and the machine dispensed the item. Denki got himself a soda.

He tried not to be disturbed by the lower row of the vending machine. It had been empty back in the days when U.A. was operating as a school, but now, it dispensed bottles of poison and other deadly substances, like acid. None had been taken yet, since there were only one of each to begin with.

As he sat down on the half-wall to sip his drink, two more people entered the cafeteria, followed by a third, who bounced along behind them. The scene reminded Denki of his own relationship with Eijirou and Katsuki, albeit that was much gloomier.

"Hey, Denki!" Hitoshi's face split into a small smile as he spotted the electric blonde. Denki waved back, and he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Hello, Hitoshi, Mashirao, Tooru," Denki greeted the three in turn. Hitoshi and Mashirao approached him on the half wall and jumped up beside him. When Denki looked to the girl, he immediately realized something had changed about her appearance.

"Oh, Tooru," he exclaimed. "You dyed your hair!"

"It's just a highlight," she replied humbly. A streak of her black hair that draped down and brushed her cheek had been dyed bright pink. On second though, however, Denki decided that that color did remind him a bit too much of blood.

"A-Anyway, what are you guys here for?" Denki asked a little too loudly, jumping away from the thought of gore.

"Well, we were training together earlier," Hitoshi said. "And we got hungry. Mezou was there too, but he stayed to himself in one corner. When Mashi tried to approach him, he got angry and yelled at him to get lost."

Denki tried not to take note of the nickname. _They've clearly gotten closer under these circumstances. In some ways, this game really is neat, bringing enemies together as friends._

_But then again, it still_ is _a Killing Game._

"That's cool. Hey, do you guys want to cook something together?" Denki suggested.

"That'd be nice. Let's make some of your fried fish. Both of us liked it," Mashirao said, gesturing at Hitoshi.

Tooru considered the offer. She was perched atop a table near the three boys. "I wasn't there when you guys last made it, but I'll give it a shot."

The four of them spent the rest of the afternoon together in the kitchen frying sardines, before experimenting with some octopus and clams as well. Denki was pretty sure Tamaki wouldn't like it when he found out they'd taken half of the tentacled cephalopods, but Monokuma would surely restock the food within a day, so it wasn't too bad.

Mashirao manned the stove. Hitoshi liked preparing and cleaning the seafood, and Denki took up setting the plates and gathering ingredients. Tooru ran around, not doing anything in particular but helping with random tasks as they suited her.

_This could be nice,_ Denki decided as they ate the fruits of their labor in the cafeteria together afterwards. _It could be nice to have friends like this._

***

Mezou huffed as he threw the weight over the hurdle. He could hear it crash into the wall on the other side, most likely sprouting yet another new hole in the cement surface, but he could care less. He'd been in the gym all day, as usual, training. He only left to occasionally get food and drink from the cafeteria. It was his way of... _coping,_ per say.

He needed to distance himself from everyone else.

That way, nobody could touch him.

Nobody would ever be able to frame him again for anything. Never targeted, never hurt, staying alive. That was all he needed. He had to become stronger, to become strong enough to fight for himself.

Today, however, something had changed.

Someone was standing in the doorway of the gym. Mezou could tell by the blurry shadow they cast across the floorboards under the dimmed lights of the massive room. His head snapped up, and his hand immediately snatched a weight from a nearby rack in case he had to defend himself.

"Hello, there, Mezou. No need to be quite so on edge," Fumikage said, strolling into the gym, the tail of his black trench coat flapping ever so slightly by the backs of his knees as he walked. The shorter male was calm as an incoming storm, and Mezou hated it. He hated it for being like an insult to his own paranoia and distrust.

Fumikage was tranquil and patient, observant, in charge of his own head and thoughts. Mezou wasn't, and he couldn't stand it.

Mezou exhaled and turned back around, continuing with his weight-chucking from earlier. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Fumikage approach the javelin-throwing station the villains had set up since their infiltration of U.A.. Subtly, Mezou continued to observe.

The bird-headed male had a surprising knack for javelin throwing. His arm was steady, his release of the pole perfect. The pointed spearhead struck its mark every time.

The two trained by themselves, alone, for a few minutes, before suddenly, Fumikage turned and threw a javelin at Mezou.

Mezou whirled and raised a weight to deflect it, anger already boiling in his stomach for trusting Fumikage to not do anything entering a gym alone with Mezou, but the javelin's trajectory course easily curved, and it flew away from the multi-armed male without even brushing the weight. Anger morphing into confusion, Mezou turned on Fumikage, who casually leaned against the now-empty rack of javelins. The targets behind him were all covered in them; metal points impaled themselves in the cut-outs of human bodies, piercing the head, heart, and neck.

"You looked particularly tense, as if you were upset over something. I thought I'd loosen you up a little," he explained, as if expertly throwing a javelin at someone for it to miss by mere centimeters were as easy as breathing.

Mezou fumed. "If your idea of _loosening up_ is nearly killing someone, you have issues. Want to be executed next?"

Fumikage smiled. "No, not really. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be. You'd think I'd be clever enough to not leave a single clue, hm?"

Mezou sighed. "Whatever you want." He turned and returned to weight chucking.

Fumikage seemed to pause and consider his options for what to do next. "Hey, Mezou," he said after a few breaths.

"What?" Mezou half-snapped. _What does he want with me?_

"You know, you're not weak. Ochako... I'm sure she only chose you because you were the most trustworthy."

"And? Trusting is a weakness."

Fumikage tilted his raven-feathered head. "Oh, really? Then we're all weak. You, Mirio, Yaomomo, Hitoshi, me, everyone. We trusted. We trust each other, and that empowers us, makes us strong."

"And look where that trust has gotten us. I trusted Ochako, right? And she used me like a puppet. Rikidou trusted her too, and he's dead. Kouji trusted Yuga enough to to not run away when he entered that library, right? And Mina and Hanta once trusted each other, but they wound up killing each other in the end." Mezou laughed, but it was bitter. A bitter, sad laugh. "Trust makes you strong, my ass! You'd wind up dead before it did that."

"But turn away from the cases and the murder. Remember, before this all happened. In that training exercise on our first day at U.A., Ochako and Izuku trusted each other to do their jobs properly. In the attack on the training camp, I trusted you and Izuku to save me from Dark Shadow.

"And even now... I trusted Yaomomo and Hanta to investigate crime scenes with me. They trusted me to investigate the bodies properly. And we've successfully solved two cases already. And... for some reason, I trust you. I trust that you won't kill someone, wouldn't kill someone after what happened with Ochako."

When Fumikage finished speaking, his words hanging in the air over Mezou's head, the questions under his monologue were clear. _Does that comfort you at all? Will you let me in?_

_Will you trust me, too?_

Mezou considered this. He considered Fumikage's words, considered Fumikage himself.

_"I trust you. I trust that you won't kill someone."_

It was that that sold Mezou to say what he did next.

"Thank you, Fumikage. I guess... I'll try to trust you, too."

Fumikage's eyes widened ever so slightly, before he allowed a small smile to slide onto his face, the corners of his beak gliding upwards. It was like he was trying to say, _That's good to hear._

The two trained into the night together. Mezou didn't know anyone could ever do quite so much with a javelin, nor did Fumikage likely know quite how strong the Heavylifter was becoming with all his secluded training over the days in the school.

They walked back to their dorms together that night. Mezou hadn't done that in a long while, not since before Rikidou's death.

When they passed Fumikage's dorm, Mezou took a moment to wave goodnight to him.

He hadn't done that in a long time, either.


	22. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 2 - Daily Life

"Are you really sure this is a good idea, Mirio?" Tamaki asked downcastedly, trailing slowly behind his charismatic boyfriend as they trudged down to the cafeteria. They'd just finished distributing his and Tsuyu's notes to the entire class; the frog girl in question had also joined the rounds, as she now strolled along beside Mirio.

"Hey, don't worry so much, Tamaki! Remember how it went last time. It'll be fine!" Mirio turned to flash Tamaki a sunny grin that immediately engulfed him in its bubbly warmth. 

It was enough to pierce the haze clouding his mood, if only for just a moment.

"Yeah! Worrying is bad for your health, Tamaki," Nejire added. It was one of her signature bursts of cheerful advice, but for some reason, it lacked her usual flair. It lacked her cheer and light, and Tamaki didn't like it.

When he turned to glance at the girl flanking him, he immediately noticed the glazed expression in her eyes and her disheveled look in general. The faint bags under her eyes appeared to have been attempted to be covered by a hasty layer of concealer. Her unbrushed, unstyled blue hair was naturally wavy and slightly tangled. Her previously snug dress was now sagging in places, as if she'd lost some weight. Worry washed over him again, much against Nejire's wish of improvement on his already dropping mental health.

"Anyway, what's the worst this could do?" Tsuyu commented offhandedly without looking back.

The four of them made their way to the cafeteria in silence after that. Mirio settled at his usual place at the table. Tamaki sat down to his right, rested his head on his arm, and waited for people to arrive.

He casually rested his free left hand on the chair edge next to him, his pinky subtly extended from his ring finger. Mirio blinked, noticed, and smiled, reaching down to intertwine his right pinky with Tamaki's. His gentle touch grounded him, pinpointed his focus on Mirio and Mirio alone, instead of thinking in circles about everything that could go wrong and had already gone to shit over the past few weeks.

Even if the windows were barricaded in this hellscape, Tamaki still had a sun in his bleak little world.

It took about ten minutes for everyone to show up, including Katsuki and Eijirou, surprisingly. Once the last person sat down, Mirio stood up to speak, letting go of Tamaki. His hand was achingly cold without the rays of sunshine brushing it.

"Hello everyone! I have gathered you all today to discuss what to do going forward!" Mirio began cheerfully.

"What do you mean by that?" Shouto questioned amidst the murmuring that erupted from the table at those words.

"I mean what we should do now. We still have to get out of here, to honor our friends. I was thinking that we should continue with our escape efforts, but we need to first discuss what to actually do. We've already tried a lot of things that all didn't work," Mirio explained. "So, any ideas?"

The class was silent for a moment. Then-

"I think I have something that can help," Mei said. "I'm working on a little device. It's a surprise!~ A work in progress, but it should be able to get us out of here if it does what I want it to!"

A rustle of oohs and quiet celebratory murmurs rose from the students at Mei's words. Mirio gave Mei an excited smile. "That's fantastic! While you're working on that, I think we should try some other stuff too, though. Any more ideas?"

"The villains watching us is a concern," Yaomomo spoke up. "How about we tamper with the cameras? If we're not allowed to, Monokuma would likely appear to just stop us, so it's not exactly unsafe."

"Another problem is the door," Hitoshi said. "It's unopenable, but we could attempt to break it. Mezou, you could try bashing some weights into it, right?"

Mezou met Hitoshi's stare evenly, considering the request, before nodding. "I suppose, yes."

"And remember all that techy stuff on the door? Denki, you're an electrician, right? Maybe there's some secret lock that you could deactivate," Nejire suggested.

"Oh! U-Umm, sure, yeah, I'll try," Denki spluttered.

"Is that all?" Mirio asked. Emboldened by the prospect of escape, the class nodded. "Alright! Then let's get to work! Split up into groups, please!"

Tsuyu left to join Izuku and Shouto. Nejire and Tamaki both stuck by Mirio. "I guess it's the three of us, huh?" He smiled. "I was actually thinking of another thing we could do. We should investigate the principal's office. No reason why, but I think it may prove useful."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Tamaki murmured. The three made their way down immediately.

Entering the principal's office, Tamaki glimpsed Mezou, Denki, Fumikage, Mashirao, Tooru, and Hitoshi working on the door. The three slipped into the office without a word. The group of six appeared to be entirely focused on what appeared to be a keypad on the door, anyway. And besides, any means of avoiding social interaction with the lowerclassmen was fine for Tamaki.

Upon entering the office, Mirio began giving instructions. "So... I'll take the desk, Tamaki can take the right shelves, and Nejire can take the left shelves. Is that okay?" Tamaki and Nejire nodded. "Great! Let's get to work, then."

Tamaki approached the right shelf. It consisted of a variety of binders and folders. He immediately began pulling things from it and examining them. The first binder he picked out consisted of some financial things for the school, for everything from food to electricity to water. Interesting, yes. Helpful? No. Tamaki put it back.

He continued shuffling through the binders, trying not to think about anything that may worry him or frighten him; instead, he was opting to focus on the papers and words swirling in front of his eyes. He worked in peace for a few minutes before someone said something behind him, startling him out of his skin for a moment.

"Um, Tamaki?"

The ravenette in question jumped and whirled around, only to see it was Nejire.

"Oh, uh, sorry," she said sheepishly. The stuttering was unlike her, Tamaki noted. "I just wanted to ask if you were okay. You've been even jumpier than usual since the game began, since the... the deaths began occurring." The concern in her voice was genuine, and Tamaki appreciated the gesture, but he still felt uncomfortable with Nejire's over-observant nature.

"I'm fine," Tamaki quickly said. As Nejire continued staring at him though, obviously disbelieving. He didn't elaborate. There was no way he could tell her how the game was gnawing away at his mind, the fear of death and loneliness hanging in front of his eyes at any given moment. He liked the girl, he really did, but Mirio was his comfort, his support beacon, someone who made him feel safe. Back then, in school, he would have loved to hide behind the bluette as well. Now, when he looked at Nejire, all he saw was someone he had to protect.

He slipped the file he'd been investigating back onto the shelf, opting to tackle that one of his anxieties, just this one time. "More importantly, are _you_ okay?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nejire asked, playing dumb. _As if her hair weren't a mess and her eyes weren't dull and she hadn't lost weight._

"You know what I mean," Tamaki retorted softly. "You look terrible. Especially ever since Hanta and Mina's trial. Are you okay? You can talk to us too, you know."

At this point the conversation had caught Mirio's attention, as he got up from his work on the desk. "Yeah, Nejire. I gotta say, you have been acting funny for a while now. Your secrets are safe with us, you know."

Nejire looked, almost panickedly, from Tamaki to Mirio. Realizing she'd been cornered, she seemed to deflate, slumping down. "F-Fine. I guess... it wouldn't hurt to talk about it once, right?

"It's... the deaths, first Ochako, then Mina.... I watched them die, and I couldn't do a thing about it." Nejire paused, uncertain, staring at her hands. "You know why I've always loved being so curious? Because the more you know about someone, the more you can help them. That's what a hero does, right?" She said softly, her voice shaky.

Tamaki stared at her, surprised. He had always just assumed she was curious because she liked interacting with people and just had that irrepressible urge to know all and hear all. But no. It'd always, always been so much more meaningful than that. Tamaki internally slapped himself for being so simple-minded.

"And yet, I've failed," Nejire continued, clenching her hands into fists against her chest, "a-at my only task... and they were my friends, too. I sh-should've known th-them best, a-and I didn't! I DIDN'T! I f-failed them... I'm just a h-horrible friend... and a failure of a h-hero..!" Nejire's explanation quickly devolved into venting and sobs as she went on. She fell down to her knees and settled on the floor, crying into her hands, her waterfall of sky-blue hair framing her tiny figure.

Mirio rushed forward to comfort her, with Tamaki following suit. "It's okay, Nejire," the former soothed, setting a hand on her shoulder. "None of us could've done anything to prevent what happened. You're not alone."

"B-But... I could've at least tried, or been a bit more observant, and then- and then-" Nejire sobbed.

"I-It's okay," Tamaki murmured, crouching beside her to rub her back. "It's not your fault alone. We all could've been a bit more observant, a bit more sensitive. We're all in the same boat."

It took a while to calm down Nejire enough. When she finally stopped, she sniffled and said, "I- I think I'm fine now."

Mirio gave her his trademark sunshine smile. "If you'd like to help our friends, you just have to do your best, okay? Even if it doesn't go perfectly, at least you tried, right?" She nodded pitifully. "Do you want to keep investigating?"

Nejire looked up, forcing a smile onto her red, tear-stained face. "Yeah."

The three continued to investigate for a while, until Nejire stumbled upon something in a folder labeled _CONFIDENTIAL._

"Hey... guys, come look at this."

Mirio and Tamaki immediately rushed to huddle over her. 

"It's... a map." Mirio took the sheet from Nejire's hands. "A blueprint-style map... of..."

"The vents," Tamaki murmured, reading the text blocks around the images. The vents were split into sections, labeled by letter. Vent A1. Vent A2. Vent B. Vent C. Vent C-side. It was all so confusing, and yet, so useful. The entire layout of the ventilation system was here, at their disposal.

"This is... seriously important info. It could get all of us in a ton of trouble if we let this get out," Nejire murmured.

"So we don't. We safekeep it," Tamaki suggested.

"Yeah. That's a good idea. How about... Mirio, you take it." Nejire said to the blonde.

Mirio was slightly surprised. "Me? Ah... okay, then." He folded it and tucked it in his pocket.

"Just don't let anyone find out, okay?" Nejire reaffirmed.

"Not a single soul. I promise."


	23. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 3 - Daily Life

"Hey, Tsuyu, can you pass me that wooden rice spoon?"

Tsuyu turned to Kyouka and gave her the item in question. "Thanks!" The Musician ran off again, hurrying to help Denki with the fried rice. It was the most energetic she'd seen her be in a long time.

The entire class was having a feast together for dinner. Tsuyu was in charge of making little fruit pastries, staying in the one corner of the huge kitchen with her baking supplies. She slipped on her gloves and took the final pan of pastries out of the oven, transferring the soft, small cookies onto the cooling rack. She then began icing and filling the previous batch, which was now cooled enough to not melt the icing.

"Is this your way of remember Ochako and Rikidou?" Fumikage questioned as he approached her. For once, he wasn't wearing his leather gloves, and his sleeves were pulled up. He was in charge of the barbecue with Mezou. _They've been getting along recently, I think._

Tsuyu supposed she _did_ choose the job of baking pastries in respect to the bakers. Heck, she hadn't even helped Ochako with baking the first time they'd had a feast, way back before Rikidou's death. 

Yet now, with the pink-splattered figures of Ochako and Rikidou at the edges of her sight and Yuga's blurry face melting into oblivion within the oven's flames, she realized he was absolutely right. "Yeah. Sort of," Tsuyu replied idly without glancing up from her work filling a creme puff.

Fumikage continued standing there, observing her work for a few moments, before turning away to return to Mezou, who was covering another grill of chicken and beef with sauce.

After about a half hour of preparing and table setting, the feast was in full swing. The lineup of their seats at the table had shifted, since they'd lost so many classmates that it'd be depressing for people to sit with chairs between them. Tsuyu sat between Mirio and Izuku. She silently ate her barbecue and fried rice and observed her classmates.

Mezou and Fumikage sat together. Mezou was chatting with the shorter boy, who ate while listening intently and replying when needed. _They're really getting along, huh?_

Katsuki and Eijirou were sitting especially close together, bumping each other's shoulders. The shark-toothed male was jokingly attempting to feed Katsuki, who was less than cooperative.

Tsuyu had expected Denki -the last remaining member of their group- to be with them, but no; Denki was sitting between Kyouka and Hitoshi; the latter was sharing fried rice with Mashirao. Tooru sat a short distance away from the trio, excitedly chatting with Mei about her invention.

Kyouka was smiling and sitting pressed up next to Denki. He too was especially happy. Yaomomo was on her friends' other side, watching from a distance and careful not to intervene. There was a glimmer of relief in her eyes; Kyouka had been acting off earlier in the week, and it was nice that she now had Denki to ground her.

However, even despite her new buddy-buddy, Tsuyu could see the glaze in her eyes, as if she were still distracted, her mind in another galaxy of sorts. Denki was a bit too high in cloud nine at the moment to tell, though, much to Tsuyu's dismay.

Next to Yaomomo was Nejire. However, she was more focused on her closer two friends, Tamaki and Mirio. The golden trio appeared to be content. Nejire was chuckling, amused by her friends' antics. Tamaki was flanked by both of his friends, so he appeared somewhat comfortable. Mirio was joking and keeping up the mood. _The same as usual. They're always happier together than apart._

Finally, there was Izuku and Shouto, who were to Tsuyu's left. Izuku was leaning against Shouto, talking softly. Tsuyu tilted her head, observing the two. Izuku seemed... almost subdued, his movements smaller. He winced if he moved a little too sharply or exerted a bit too much muscular strength, relying instead on Shouto for strength. 

But despite his strange behavior, Izuku's eyes didn't lose their blossoming light. Actually, he seemed even happier, even, now with his closest friend at his side, alive and well.

_They're all seeing hope... finally..._

And behind them... Tsuyu thought she could see the rest of her class there, too. There was Tenya and Ochako weaving around Shouto and Izuku, both of their clothes soaked with blood and their eyes filled with tears; whether sad or happy or pained, Tsuyu did not know.

And there was Rikidou, hovering by and dripping thick, blackened liquid out of his punctured neck, and Kouji, his skin burnt and ashen, oozing thick blood out of the many cracks caused by the dryness and heat of flame- both were content to merely observe as well. The Animal Tamer was smiling as he watched Kyouka and Denki, who were now calmly talking, a consistent giggle edging the male's voice. The small upwards curve of Kyouka's lips betrayed her warm affections for the boy she so often said was infuriating and annoying in the past.

A fuzzy apparition of Yuga was present, but he was trapped against the wall of the room. The flames fluttering behind him and his unblinking stare forced her to look away.

Mina and Hanta were there, too. Two zombie-like spirits with hollow eyes hovering over Katsuki and Eijirou, smiling with their living companions.

_Our class..._

Tsuyu stared at her visions of the deceased, the world fogging around her as she focused on them and tried to ground them. However, her efforts were to no avail; one by one, they dissolved. Even Yuga, who so often remained to haunt her, vanished in a mere blink of an eye.

_I once said I'd remember all of you... _

_Tenya, Ochako, Rikidou, Kouji, Mina, Hanta... _

_I intend to keep that promise._

~~~

"You know, so much has changed here," Nejire said, stirring sugar into her tea with a petite silver spoon.

"Yeah," Yaomomo murmured absently.

The girls were having tea together that very same evening, after dinner. The only one missing was Mei. She had been determined to stay in the lab and work on her mystery device, and was so passionate about it that Yaomomo and Tsuyu allowed her to stay.

"I know this is tea, and toasts aren't exactly suited for such a beverage, but... for Ochako and Mina." Yaomomo raised her cup.

"For Ochako and Mina." The girls solemnly toasted tea to their two beloved friends, both of whom had been killed at the stake. When Tsuyu gazed upon their five hands, their five cups clinging together, the image flickered, and for a moment she thought she could see two more; there was a hand that was ringed by a pale, blood-soaked cuff, and another that was pink skinned, dull, and zombie-like. 

But when she blinked, her eyes flickering down to see the bodies and faces attached to those ghostly hands, they were gone once more. She shook herself and lowered her cup with the others to take a sip.

"We've all been through a lot at this point... but, somehow, I still sort of am enjoying myself. Is that strange?" Kyouka asked, her voice soft. Despite her words, Tsuyu still felt as if the Musician were a thousand miles away; so distant, yet so present all at the same time.

"Nah, it's fine!" Tooru reassured, sipping tea. "Living together, working together to a common goal, it's all pretty nice, to be honest."

"While this is a truly terrible thing to happen, it's also a bonding experience," Yaomomo elaborated. "And to just hang out like this... it's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Kyouka stared into her tea. Yaomomo gave her a concerned look, her relief from earlier gone now that Denki was no longer present and Kyouka had gone directly back to being distant.

"Anyway, it'll be all fine soon, I hope. We're so close to getting out of here, now, with Mei's invention and whatnot. So it'll all be fine soon!" Nejire said, always trying to be optimistic.

_Hope._

_That's all... we just have to have hope. Hope that we'll all escape, together._

_Hope, hope, hope..._

_...but do we really have hope?_

_Do any of us... Yaomomo, Kyouka, Nejire, Tooru, Mei... have hope?_

_Do I?_

_I don't think I know anymore._


	24. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 4 - Deadly Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: disemboweling/gutspill, heavy gore

"Help! Help!"

Yaomomo whirled around in the kitchen, Denki and the Big Three at her side. They'd been in the process of making breakfast when Izuku burst into the room, sweating and red-faced. His jade eyes were wide and wild.

"I-Izuku?!" Denki yelped, looking nearly as afraid as Izuku was at the moment. "What happened?!"

"Ah- body- gym- go..." Izuku promptly fainted, crumpling to the ground in a daze. A moment later, Shouto suddenly raced into the kitchen after his friend.

"How is he moving so- Oh god, he fainted." Shouto looked up to meet the confused, frightened stares of the other students. "Listen to him. The gym... something bad must've happened there. I ran into him as he was bolting up the stairs." 

He was less obvious about his fear, but Yaomomo could tell by his wide eyes and shaking figure. She turned and met eyes with Denki before running out the room. "H-Hey, wait up!" Nejire called, hurrying to stumble after them.

Yaomomo dashed down the stairs and down the hallway with Denki, Mirio, Tamaki, and Nejire hot at her heels. Her heart was in her throat and pounding like a sledgehammer against her chest. _Not again... who could it be? Who could it possibly be this time?!_

And as she rounded the corner, she saw it. She'd been expecting it, of course, from Izuku and Shouto's warnings.

But even with that in mind, nothing could've prepared her for the horrific scene on the floor before her.

_A body, lying in a pool of blood._

_A mass of glistening organs sprawling out of the gash down his front; a slick, sac-like stomach, a dark liver, slimy, deflated lungs, a tangled esophagus, and crimson muscle all lying on the floor, soaked in blood, slashed, crushed, and spilling out their acidic contents._

_A human heart, ripped from the boy's chest, torn and lying in front of his eyes, his crimson eyes, which glared with such vicious, white-hot, reckless rage at something in front of him that was long gone._

_A disemboweled body, drowning in his own blood..._

"...wh-wha-?!"

Yaomomo was at a loss for words. Something sickening was spiraling through her body, coursing through her veins, sending her own stomach flipping and her insides churning. The hot, rank tang of vomit threatened to make its appearance at the back of her throat.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"_ The body discovery announcement played overheard, but Yaomomo ignored it. Her gaze was glued to the corpse before her.

_It's him..._ him.

The eyes were what gave it away. Only one person could have such hateful crimson eyes.

_Katsuki. The Porcupine Bomber..._

_I've wanted him gone since the second trial. He killed so many..._

_...so why don't I feel satisfied that he is dead?_

_Why am I sad that he had been murdered in cold blood?_

A silence fell over the group. A silence as they tried to comprehend the horror of the mess before them.

"I'll... go... tell the others..." Nejire staggered off, her voice faint. When Yaomomo ripped her eyes away from the body to look at her, her steps were shaky and her skin pale. She looked like she was going to be sick. _Hell,_ all of the students present looked like they were.

"I'll go with her..." Tamaki rushed to follow her, unable to continue to look at the bloodsoaked body. His eyes were wide with a gripping, cold fear, with blistering anxiety that ate away his brain. "M-Mirio... come on..." The blonde in question didn't follow him, instead stiffly staring at the corpse with wide eyes.

_>Investigation : Start!<_

"L-Look... He's propped against the door..." Denki choked out.

Yaomomo looked up. He was right. Looking beyond the body, it was lying against the pull-open door, making it impossible to open it without moving the corpse. "If we're to investigate, the room the body is blocking may be a good starting point," Yaomomo agreed slowly.

Denki swiftly turned a rather ill shade of green at what she was implying. "H-hold on, I... think I need to go to the bathroom." He hastily ran off, leaving Yaomomo and Mirio alone together with the corpse.

"W-Well..." Mirio stumbled over his words. "He's right. The gym may have clues that are hidden. Look at the smeared blood pool around him... it looks like he's been dragged."

Yaomomo followed his finger. Sure enough, there were drag marks through the pooling blood around his body. "Then we'll have to report that and move the body. We can't wait; investigation time is beginning," she said grimly, swallowing the bile in her throat. "Help me, Mirio."

The two of them reluctantly and gingerly managed to slide the body around, so that it now laid perpendicular to the set of doors. Thankfully, the organs were somehow still attached to their host. Yaomomo wiped some of the blood on her fingers onto her skirt and opened the gym door.

And when she did-

_...no._

_No, no, no, no, no, no..._

_It can't be... no, not her, not her, no, NO!_

Yaomomo threw the door behind her in a panicked haste and stumbled forward, staggering over to _it_ in an attempt to possibly deny the most obvious truth before her.

_There was another body._

It was disemboweled in roughly the same fashion. Her chest was untouched, but below her ribs, there was a wide cut, allowing the red and pink heaps of mucus-coated tissue membrane that were her organs to spill out and onto the floor. A tangled mass of intestines framed her slashed, deflated, dark stomach. Blood covered her clothes.

Her slashed clothing confirmed her gender to be female, although that wouldn't have been necessary, since her hair was not slicked back and her face untouched, so her identity was out in the open. 

Her expression was positively terrified, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open, as if she'd been surprised.

_No..._ Yaomomo fell to her knees before her friend's body. She was like a gruesome piece of artwork, framed in a canvas of blood.

_Why her..?_

The girl's short, choppy hair swept over her forehead. Her earlobe jacks lay around her like trailing wires, trailing bloodstained wires.

_Kyouka... Kyouka Jirou. My friend..._

_Why did it have to be her?_

_Her, her, her..._

A choked sob ripped itself free from Yaomomo's throat. She crumpled forward, her hands falling right into the pool of blood. The substance was drying; it was cool and sticky to the touch, covering Yaomomo's hands with her own friend's life.

_And... and who- who could've done such a horrible thing?_

_Which of our classmates could be so cruel in their double murder?_

...

...

...

"Yaomomo. Yaomomo. _Hey, Yaoyorozu, wake up!"_

Yaomomo blinked and snapped out of her thoughts to someone shaking her shoulders from behind. _Thoughts of Kyouka. Wondering who could've done this and why._

"Wh-What? What happened?" She looked up to meet Shouto's steady, dark eyes.

"The entire class is here now. You have to clean up your hands, too, it seems," he stated. "Come on. Fumikage is waiting for you. Investigation is starting."

"Aren't you at all fazed by these bodies?" Yaomomo asked, her voice a mere pitiful, soft whimper. She wanted to be comforted, to be told Kyouka wasn't dead, to be told this was all a dream. 

Of course, that wasn't going to happen. Shouto lowered his voice, eyes darting to the side for a moment, as if checking to make sure he wasn't being listened to. "I am. I just can't let it show. I have to stay strong." He met Yaomomo's silver gaze. "They still look up to me, you know," he said. "I'm still a top student, spare for the Big Three, and you are too. Keep it together. Denki and Hitoshi and a lot of people still look up to you, just like how Izuku relies on me when these times get rough. So be there for them, okay?"

Yaomomo held her gaze evenly with Shouto's. _Okay. Listen to Shouto. Keep it together._

"Okay," she said. Shouto allowed her to get up and step away from the body, before handing her a wet towel. She gratefully took it and cleaned off the sticky blood from her hands.

_Grieve for Kyouka after this. After the trial..._

_I have to do this for her. To find her -and Katsuki's- killer..._

Yaomomo turned in place and simply watched Fumikage hunched in front of Kyouka's disemboweled corpse, checking over the corpse. She tried not to look at the horrible mess of blood and tiny bits of- were those nerves?- _something_ on his gloves.

"Um, where is the Monokuma File?" Yaomomo attempted to break the near awkward silence, as well as to distract herself.

"Ah, I took it, when Monokuma came around earlier. Here you go." Shouto handed Yaomomo the tablet.

_'Case IV_

_Victims: Katsuki Bakugou and Kyouka Jirou_

_Fatal Wounds: Kyouka appears to have died from a pierced heart, and Katsuki from a heart attack._

_Other Wounds: Both Kyouka and Katsuki's bodies are heavily disemboweled.'_

"H-Heart attack?" Yaomomo read over that line again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating or something. "What does it mean, Katsuki died from a heart attack?"

"We don't know," Shouto said. "Maybe when Fumikage investigates his body next, it'll become clearer."

_That's awfully optimistic,_ Yaomomo thought inwardly, tucking away the File. "What have you found so far?"

"Not much," Fumikage said. "She's been completely disemboweled. Opening up her chest, there's a small, clean piercing right over where the heart is, which is the fatal wound. Some of her organs are slashed or crushed. 

"It's certainly likely for the killer to have stabbed her heart before moving on to the other organs." He sighed. "This sure is messy," he added quietly, and gently attempted to shift all of Kyouka's innards back into her body. Yaomomo tried not to gag.

"There's not much to learn," Shouto said. "All of the organs below her ribs have been slashed. The Monokuma File could be right or wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Yaomomo questioned.

"I have a theory," Shouto said. _Befitting of his title._ "Since the File states 'it appears', there is a possibility that what appears to be is not the truth. How do Monokuma -and in turn, the villains- create the File? They watch the murder through the surveillance cameras. If it had been internal, it is possible what appeared to kill her from the outside did not actually."

"Well," Yaomomo murmured. "That's... complicated."

"It is," Shouto replied. "But it's definitely possible."

Yaomomo decided to consider Shouto's words. It could come in handy during the trial and be a determining factor in success, or it could be a hindrance and confuse everyone. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to try. If the theory was wrong, then it's wrong, and the trial could progress.

"I'm done here," Fumikage suddenly spoke up. He had stood up, gloves covered in blood. "Nothing interesting with her insides."

Yaomomo forced herself to glance down at Kyouka's body. Fumikage had dutifully rearranged Kyouka's insides back where they rightfully belonged, and she was rolled over onto her back so that they wouldn't fall back out, but the gash in her abdomen was unhidable. Yaomomo quickly looked away, unable to stare at her best friend's organs, open to the world when they never should've been seen.

Try as she refused to admit it, Yaomomo knew the world was still moving onwards even as Kyouka wasn't. A black feather -Fumikage's, presumably- was already half buried in the substance, a sign of life still being present all around her. It made Yaomomo feel a little sick.

"I'm moving on to Katsuki's autopsy," Fumikage said. "Care to join me?"

"Um, I'll check back later for the results," Yaomomo said a little too quickly. Shouto merely sighed and followed Fumikage to check on Katsuki.

Yaomomo guiltily turned away from Kyouka's body. _I'm sorry... it's just too much. I can't bear looking at you, at your terrified expression, at your dead corpse._

_I hope that's okay, Kyouka._

She decided to merely investigate the rest of the gym, perhaps for clues. There'd been plenty in and around the scene of the crime last time, after all, with the bookbags and missing sedative.

However, as she scoured the gym, nothing seemed out of place. As she hovered by the weights station, however, Yaomomo noticed something on the floor. She crouched to pick it up.

_A... dart?_

She flipped it over in her hand, inspecting it, when something in her peripheral vision caught her eye.

There was something behind the vent cover.

_A dash of pink..._

_A bloodstain._

Yaomomo looked around swiftly. In her bout of panic, she wondered if she'd found a third body. After all, it's not like she'd checked if every other student were present in the investigation. "Tsuyu! Mirio! Come here, quickly!" she called.

The two hope enthusiasts raced across the gym to her. "What is it, Yaomomo?" Tsuyu asked, her voice shaky. In fact, her entire body was shaking. She obviously wasn't taking the disemboweled bodies on the scene very well.

"Th-There's a bloodstain... behind the vent cover..." Yaomomo said, her voice trailing off as she realized, slightly shamefully, that she was scared. _Scared of what was in that vent._

Mirio met her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, I'll take it." He walked over and ripped off the vent door. He looked inside. Yaomomo held her breath.

"There's some stuff in here. Come and take a look before I take it out," Mirio said. Yaomomo let out a strained sigh of relief. _Phew. There wasn't a third body. How silly of me, in hindsight. People would've been in a frenzy if someone was missing._

She crouched down as Mirio stood up and peeked inside. Within the dark confines of the vent, she could make out smudged blood stains. The trail led down the vent, disappearing into the darkness.

She stood back up, allowed Tsuyu to look. "Oh, and Tsuyu," she said as the frog girl stood up, having evidently seen nothing new. "Look, I found this on the floor, by the weights." Yaomomo held up the dart she'd found.

Tsuyu took it from her. "It's a dart... and there appears to be some type of liquid on it." She carefully rubbed her finger on the tip of the dart. It came off with a slight amount of slick. She sniffed at it. "Poison," she said grimly.

"Poison..?" Yaomomo asked nervously. _A poison dart? Why is it here?_

"Strange... a poison dart?" Tsuyu murmured.

"Hey, guys, there's something else in the vent, hold on-" Mirio had crouched down again, staring down the vent. He stuck his arm in and attempted to reach for it, but to no avail. He groaned and backed out. "There's something in there, but it's been flung down the vent. I can't reach it. I can only see it because the light from this opening is reflecting off of it."

"Then the only way to get it is to go inside. Except you won't fit, Mirio, no offense," Yaomomo said. "I'm not sure about me, either... I think I'll get stuck."

"Then I'll do it," Tsuyu spoke up. She looked up at the taller students with a sort of scared determination. Yaomomo could see she was still shaking and her voice trembled. Her eyes glittered with fear, her body anything but steady, but her words were bold. "I'm the smallest person in the class, so I'm gonna go get it."

She didn't wait for Yaomomo or Mirio to protest and clambered in. Yaomomo could barely hear her crawling through. _Of course. She's lighter than Fumikage, when he crawled in, and she's used to doing this type of thing in her frog form, so she's obviously going to be quieter._

After about half a minute she scrambled hastily back out with something in her hand. She got up, handed it to Mirio to inspect, and brushed herself off, skittering behind and between her taller classmates.

"It's a flask of poison," Mirio stated, spinning it around once before handing it to Yaomomo. She took it carefully and stared at the contents. Translucent light purple liquid was inside the small container. There was a narrow spout at the top with a lid that could easily be popped open with a flick of the finger.

_The spout's perfect for dipping the dart in..._

"Let's keep this all here on the mat," Mirio suggested. Yaomomo and Tsuyu complied, and they placed the dart and flask on top of it.

"I think Fumikage should be nearly through with the autopsy," Tsuyu said. "Let's go check on him."

The trio went into the hallway, where Eijirou, Tamaki, Nejire, and Shouto watched Fumikage dissect Katsuki. Yaomomo noticed that Fumikage had since re-fluffed up Katsuki's now-pink hair, so he looked more like himself than before. A wide pool of drying blood surrounded his body.

"So far, it's just like Kyouka's. Slashed organs. Disembowelment," Fumikage said as he heard them approach. "Nothing too special. I'm wrapping up now."

"W-Wait! Let me see," Eijirou suddenly blurted out, his eyes glimmering with tears. Tamaki was gazing at him silently, sympathy warm in his eyes. "I just- want to see him again. And- and make sure he's really dead a-and gone and all that... stuff..." 

"Eijirou. I really do hate to be insensitive, but his heart is laying detached from his body, right here in my hand," Fumikage stated dryly, holding up the vital organ from his place kneeled by the body. Yaomomo nearly choked on the bitter bile rising in her throat and turned away. Tsuyu lowered her gaze to her shoes. Nejire gagged, the sound muffled behind her hands.

"C-Come on, just let me!" Eijirou protested. Fumikage sighed and shuffled back against the wall.

Eijirou took Fumikage's place in front of the body, staring down at his boyfriend's ripped open body. His eyes dragged over the corpse, over and over, disbelieving and full of grief each and every time.

For a long couple of a dragged out seconds, he was silent. But then-

"Hey, um, Fumikage?" Eijirou spoke up in a small, shaky voice.

"What?"

"Um, what's this?" Eijirou pointed at something in the body. Fumikage got up and reapproached it. He knelt down and reached in to fumble with something. Judging by the horrible _squelch_ this action caused, Yaomomo guessed he had moved an organ to remove the object of Eijirou's curiosity.

After what seemed like a prolonged breath, Fumikage pulled out his hand. In his pink, slick grasp was a blood-covered tube. He rubbed at it with his sleeve. "It's a syringe," he noted slowly. Yaomomo gingerly skirted around the corpse and leaned over to peer into his palm. Sure enough, there was a blood-splashed medical needle atop his pink-stained leather glove.

"A- A syringe was hidden within Katsuki's body?" Eijirou stared at the object. "Why would that be?"

"Probably the killer's," Tamaki said grimly. "They used it somehow... and hid it in the body."

"We'll look into it later," Fumikage said. He tucked it into his pocket, apparently not minding the inevitable blood stain to follow.

"There's still time left in investigation," Shouto spoke up. "And there's something I personally would still like to hear."

"What?" Yaomomo turned to the heterochronous male.

"Accounts. In Ochako's case, her account was a major mislead. In Yuga's case, there were next to no accounts, and that was the case we failed. And in Mina and Hanta's case, Nejire's account attributed to finding Mina suspicious. Perhaps this case will be the same," Shouto explained.

Fumikage nodded in consent. "It's a good idea. Let's share our own first before seeking the others'."

"Personally, I've got nothing of interest. I was heading downstairs from my dorm when I ran into Izuku in the stairway, and the rest is history," Shouto said. "Yaomomo? I know you were close friends with Kyouka."

"Well... ever since Mina and Hanta's case, I have to admit, she's been acting odd. Quiet. Never talking, looking down, as if deep in thought. When she started dating Denki, I thought she would be okay..." Yaomomo's heart dropped into her stomach at the thought. "Maybe if I'd done something, she wouldn't be dead..."

"It's not your fault, Yaomomo," Mirio soothed. "None of us could've done anything to prevent a murderer from choosing her as one of their targets. If you were at fault, then all of us would be."

"What about Katsuki?" Fumikage diverted the topic. Maybe it was because he knew they were likely short on time, or maybe it was to distract Yaomomo from thinking about Kyouka. Either way, she was grateful.

"Katsuki... he's been normal." _As normal as a mass-murderer could've been._ "He appeared barely externally affected by Mina and Hanta's deaths. He's become even closer to Eijirou. Everyone was very bitter towards him after his reveal, except for a select few. Anyway, have you noticed anything?" She regarded the red-haired male.

"Um, no," Eijirou said. "He's been acting normally. I've been with him nearly every moment of our days. It was just this morning, he didn't meet me in the cafeteria..." His voice broke and he fell silent, his eyes dropping to Katsuki's blood splatter, which stained the floor right before his feet.

"What about you, Mirio?" Fumikage prompted. "Anything odd or out of place recently, especially this morning?"

"Well, um... I did hear something weird today. I was awoken in the early morning by a strange noise. It was a muffled thumping sound. It passed by me, left to right, before slowly fading. I was on edge the entire time, but nothing happened afterwards. I got up after that and quickly went to find Tamaki and Nejire. Being in a group is always safer than being alone, I figured," Mirio detailed.

"That's... bizarre," Fumikage mused. "We'll discuss later."

"Tamaki, Nejire, Tsuyu, do you guys have anything to share?" Mirio asked his friends.

"No. Nothing suspicious. Other than Yaomomo's comment on Kyouka's behavior, I haven't seen anything," she said simply, seemingly staring at the wall. _Perhaps to distract her eyes from being drawn to the body?_

"I've got nothing." Tamaki's voice was soft; his eyes now lowered to his shoes. A few off-handed glances to Eijirou, empathetic pain clear in his expression, were the only gestures of comfort he could offer, it seemed. "Katsuki was often with Eijirou. That's it."

"Neither do I," Nejire whimpered, a hand over her mouth, her gaze fixed on her thumb. No further words from her.

"In that case, Fumikage? Have you seen anything?" Mirio turned to the other shorter Ultimate.

"Yes. In fact, I have a very important piece of information," Fumikage said, looking confident in himself.

"What? You saw them?! Who was it, Fumikage?" Tsuyu jumped to ask, obviously riled up by his words.

"Well, I was nightwalking, and on my way up to the cafeteria after being in the library, I passed by the gym, and I glimpsed someone entering... she appeared to be female, with simple, short hair," Fumikage said.

"The surviving girls... that's Yaomomo, Mei, Tooru, Nejire, and me," Tsuyu mused. "You said simple, short hair, right? Yaomomo's hairstyle is obvious with the ponytail, mine's is long, as is Nejire's." She put on a grim expression. "Thank you for the account, Fumikage."

"Not a problem. Oh, and I have someone else I'd like to ask the account of... come on, let's go find him." Fumikage turned and began to move back towards the gym, around Katsuki's body.

"Who?" Yaomomo asked, hurriedly chasing him. Shouto followed her; the rest stayed by Eijirou and Katsuki.

"Mezou. He's always in the gym, right?" Fumikage strolled into the gym, quickly making his way over to the tall male. "Hello, Mezou."

"Fumikage." Mezou turned. "What is it?"

"We need your account," Fumikage said. "You're always in the gym, right? Did you see anything last night?"

Mezou hesitated. "Actually, yes. Kyouka entered the gym. Went to... the darts station, I believe," he said. "I saw her approach the opposite corner of the gym." He pointed at a corner. "Over there."

Yaomomo turned. In the corner was a treadmill, which was next to the darts station and the pull-ups bar.

"I left a while after she arrived," Mezou continued. "I'd been working on the weights, personally."

"Okay," Fumikage thanked him for the account and turned around. "We should ask around a bit more. About Kyouka and Katsuki's behavior before their deaths," Fumikage suggested.

"Denki was close to both of them, especially Kyouka. Let's ask him," Yaomomo suggested. Fumikage nodded, and they headed off to find him.

Denki was crouched by Kyouka's body. He'd closed her eyes and gently eased her arms to a more natural, less stiff position, so that she appeared more peaceful. More like she could simply be sleeping, had it not been for her ripped-open body.

"Denki," Yaomomo said gently. He jumped and looked up, his eyes wide and clouded with grief. Tears welled in them as he met her somber gaze.

"We're sorry to interrupt, but we need your account," Shouto said softly. Denki hesitated for a moment, but got up and met Yaomomo's gaze.

"You mean if I'd noticed anything with Kyouka and Katsuki before... this, right?" Denki asked shakily. Yaomomo nodded.

"The last time I was with Kyouka was last night. We had dinner together in the cafeteria. Fried fish and squid," he began. "Nothing odd. We made the food in the kitchen, sat down in the cafeteria, and ate for a while. I kept trying to make small talk, but she wasn't too much in the mood for talking. At one point she got up to the vending machine. She came back with a bottle of water.

"We finished our meal. We washed the dishes. Parted ways. I said, 'See you in the morning.'" He trembled slightly, tears spilling over and running down his face. "I never- I never saw her after that."

Yaomomo rushed forward to comfort the distraught boy. "I'm sorry," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. They were both in the same situation; two people, having lost their companion to the insensitive void of death.

Their embrace was broken by the ringing of a bell over the intercom.

"Time's up! Investigation is now over," Monokuma said, his voice echoing off the vast walls of the gym. "Please make your way to the elevator ASAP! See you soon... upupupu! Upupupupu..."

The voice cut off.

Yaomomo sighed and dusted herself off. "I suppose we must do as he says."

The group of students solemnly gathered and shuffled down to the elevator, boarding in silence and waiting for it to transport them earthwards. Yaomomo stood in her usual place, the space to her left occupied by Shouto but the space to her right devoid. _Kyouka always stood there._

_And now she's dead._

_Kyouka and Katsuki... another double murder, right after the last one._

_Who could've done this? Orchestrating their crime in such a gruesome fashion, targeting two instead of one..._

_I've got to solve this._

_For Kyouka. For her sake, I must solve this case. For Denki, too, her boyfriend, her closest companion, whom she lost all too soon._

_And... for Katsuki, too, I think. Even if he was a criminal in the end, he was a great hero before that. For Eijirou, too, who was his best friend and lover._

_I will solve this case once again, for the sakes of both the living and the dead._


	25. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 5 - Class Trial

_And so it has happened again._

The students had already taken their spots around the circle. Yaomomo's eyes darted around the ring. Kyouka and Katsuki had been replaced by X-ed out images of their faces upon their podiums.

Monokuma sat on Toga's lap on the golden throne. The girl was dressed in her usual schoolgirl outfit, her yellow eyes twinkling as she gazed over the students at her disposal. A small blade twirled in her free hand, the other occupied in being wrapped around the monochrome bear. She appeared much like child cuddling her teddy.

The bear laughed maniacally. "Puhuhuhu! It's time for our fourth case already! Ooh, I'm hyped! Are you all ready? Let the class trial begin!"

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"We should begin with the Monokuma File and establish some basic facts." Fumikage started off the trial as usual. "Yaomomo, if you would please..?"

"Ah. Right." Yaomomo took out the tablet and read off of it. "The victims were Kyouka and Katsuki. Kyouka appears to have died from a pierced heart..." She paused to swallow, attempting to rid herself of the tightening feeling in her throat. _No. Don't show them your feelings. You must stay strong. Strong._ She steeled herself and continued after a mere breath's break. "And Katsuki appears to have died from a heart attack.

"Both of their bodies are also heavily disemboweled, and the organs are all slashed." She looked up at her classmates. "That's it."

"Alright. Again, there's gaps of information in the File that we must find. That includes the relative time and orders of the deaths, as well as the weapons used," Fumikage stated.

"We should start by determining the order of the deaths again," Mirio said. "Last time, it was a discussion starter."

"Then let us discuss," Fumikage prompted. "Who was killed first? Kyouka or Katsuki?"

_>Non-Stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #4, Syringe, Flask, Katsuki's Blood Pool, Fumikage's Account, Denki's Account, Blood in Vent<_

"So, the death order... Katsuki was discovered first. He was **outside the gym,"** Nejire mused.

"Kyouka was **killed inside** and discovered second. Perhaps she died first?" Hitoshi suggested.

"And Katsuki was killed on the way out. That makes sense," Mashirao jumped to agree with his friend.

"But there's **no proof** of that! I mean, we can't exactly testify to it," Mei said.

"Yeah, it's **not like anyone saw them** or something," Eijirou commented quietly.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Fumikage's Account : Counter!<_

"No. Someone can testify to that, and prove that Katsuki was not at the gym until after Kyouka had arrived. Fumikage, could you elaborate?" Yaomomo handed it over to the witness in question.

"Yes. In fact, last night, I was walking by and glimpsed someone entering the gym. They appeared to be female and had a short, simple hairstyle," Fumikage said.

"So you're saying you saw the killer enter the gym? Then Kyouka must've already been there or entered shortly afterwards," Izuku concluded.

"That's right," Fumikage agreed.

"But how do you know Katsuki wasn't in there, too?" Shouto prompted.

"Because there's another account that aligns with mine," Fumikage said. "You recall that, right, Yaomomo?"

_Another account, which aligns with Fumikage's, and proves Katsuki arrived to the gym after Kyouka... it's got to be... that one!_

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Mezou's Account : I got it!<_

"Mezou. That's right! He said he saw Kyouka enter at around eleven, and she was the only one in the gym with him. He left shortly after, and didn't run into anyone on the way back," Yaomomo exclaimed.

"Hey, I can explain my own accounts," Mezou huffed. However, there was no iciness behind his words. _He's warming back up to us. Perhaps it's the time he's been spending with Fumikage recently._

"So Kyouka arrived to the gym quite a while before Katsuki ever went near the gym," Tamaki mused. "M-Mezou... you don't happen to know..."

"Know what?" Mezou questioned. His tone was blunt but not cutting. However, it was enough to make Tamaki shudder slightly.

"Um, you know, did Katsuki ever go to the gym on a schedule before he... uh... died?" the Florist spluttered out.

"Yes, actually. He enjoyed late night training. He often arrived a bit before midnight. He didn't let off on that habit even after he was framed for his actions during the dark hours in Kouji's case," Mezou explained.

"So it's certain. Kyouka was killed before Katsuki," Fumikage concluded.

"But with that aside... there's something I find peculiar..." Hitoshi murmured. "It's about your account, Fumikage."

"What about it?" The raven-headed boy would've cocked an eyebrow right then and there, if only he actually _had_ eyebrows.

"Well, you said you saw a girl with a short, simple haircut enter the gym, right?" Hitoshi said. "This may be crucial in determining the killer. Because that person could very well be the killer that Fumikage saw."

"Did you see any other defining features of hers?" Eijirou asked the Nightwalker.

"Well, I only saw her for a split moment as she entered. Out of the side of my eye, I saw movement, and when I turned, I only saw the back of her shadowed head vanishing into the gym. I have given all the details I know. She had short, simple hair, the tips at just the right length to brush her shoulders. And she was most certainly female, based on her body shape. No guy in this class would look quite so slender." Fumikage elaborated on his sighting.

"There are five girls present right now," Mashirao said. "Yaomomo, Tooru, Tsuyu, Mei, and Nejire. So the killer Fumikage saw must be one of them!" he declared boldly.

"H-Hey! Don't pin them as the killer quite so quickly!" Tamaki protested, but he was ignored by the majority of the group as they began buzzing with excitement at such an easy trial.

"Yaomomo always wears her hair in her trademark fluffy ponytail. Fumikage would've recognized it instantly, so it's not her. Tsuyu and Nejire both have long hair. That only leaves two girls: Mei and Tooru." Hitoshi glanced at the two girls. "It must've been one of them."

"Hey! Don't blame us so quickly!" Mei exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah!" Tamaki suddenly called out again. "Guys, hold on! We can't jump to a conclusion so quickly!"

_>Double!<_

"I can't believe it! I've been working on our best escape plan all this time, and you suspect me?!" Mei wailed.

_>Triple!<_

"I wasn't even awake last night by ten! Why are you blaming me all of a sudden?" Tooru protested.

_"Don't suspect them so quickly!"_

_"I am obviously not the culprit!"_

_"It's impossible for me to be the culprit!"_

_>Mass Panic Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Mezou's Account, Fumikage's Account, Fumikage's Autopsy - Kyouka, Syringe, Blood Pool - Kyouka, Blood in Vent<_

"G-guys, don't pin blame so quickly!" Tamaki yelped.

"I cannot believe you guys would suspect me so easily!" Mei said, disappointed.

"I know exactly where I was last night..." Tooru began.

\---

"Why, may I ask, are you defending them?" Shouto inquired.

"All this time, the only thing I've done is work in the lab," The pinkette continued.

"...and it was **definitely not anywhere near the gym!"** Tooru declared.

\---

"W-well, I believe you guys are all overlooking an important fac-" Tamaki stuttered.

**"I CAN'T BELIEVE MY HARD WORK WOULD BE FOR NOTHING!"** Mei yelled.

"Well, do you have an alibi that can be confirmed by another person?" Mashirao asked.

\---

"Who cares?! All we know is that the culprit has to be **one of these two!"** Eijirou wailed.

"Your hard work is not gone to waste, Mei," Hitoshi rushed to comfort her.

"N-No... but I know I was definitely sleeping in my room!" Tooru said, her voice wavering.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Mezou's Account : Counter!<_

"No... I don't think that the culprit necessarily is Mei or Tooru," Yaomomo said.

"Huh? How could that be? They're the only ones who fit Fumikage's description!" Izuku replied.

"They're the only ones _present_ who could fit the description," Yaomomo corrected. "According to Mezou's account, Kyouka entered the gym at about eleven. Fumikage, when did you see our mystery girl?"

"I'm not certain, but it must have also been around eleven. I made it back to my room at eleven-fifteen. I had made a stop at the cafeteria between seeing her and going back, so I believe eleven is a reasonable estimate," Fumikage explained.

"That lines up pretty closely with Mezou's account," Nejire said. "So it's almost certain that the girl Fumikage saw was Kyouka!"

"And the killer arrived later, after Mezou was gone," Tsuyu said. "That makes sense."

"Okay, okay... so Kyouka died a while past eleven, maybe around half-past," Tooru pondered. "And the killer can still be anyone."

"By anyone... is that including Katsuki too?"

"Hm?" Tooru looked up, her eyes meeting the Electrician's.

"Is there any possibility that, like last time, they killed each other?" Denki suggested, averting his eyes to avoid meeting the Artist's. "He died because... augh, Yaomomo, back me up here!" He looked to her as Tooru tilted her head in confusion.

_Katsuki's cause of death... we can get it from..._

_>Select an answer:_

_Monokuma File_

_Syringe_

_Slashed organs_

_Time of death<_

_>Monokuma File : I got it!<_

"The Monokuma File said that Katsuki appeared to have died from a heart attack," Yaomomo stated.

"Then who disemboweled the bodies? Who'd go around doing that on purpose? And why? It makes no sense! It's like someone has a death wish for all of us, or something..." Tooru's voice trailed off.

Denki slumped and Yaomomo paused. _She's right._ "Yeah, that's a good point," Denki muttered.

"Hey, while we're on the topic of the Monokuma File... I have a theory I'd like to share," Shouto spoke up again.

_Oh yeah, Shouto's theory._ "What is it?" Mei spoke up to ask.

"Well, notice the wording of the Monokuma File. It says that it _appears_ that Kyouka died of a pierced heart and Katsuki a heart attack. The key word is _appears._ How does Monokuma create the File? He watches the scene through the security cameras the villains installed in every room. Either that or he pops out like he always does with a portal and hides to watch it in person.

"Both possibilities have one fatal flaw, however. If something internal happens and kills the person, Monokuma has no sure-fire way to confirm it, since he can't tamper with the body. As a result, saying Katsuki died of a heart attack may possibly be inaccurate."

As soon as Shouto shut his mouth, the trial room erupted in chaos.

"Are you saying the File could be wrong?! It's never been wrong before!" Izuku cried.

"How are we supposed to figure out a case if supposed 'given' information is inaccurate?!" Tooru wailed.

"Y-Yeah! If the File's wrong, then how are we supposed to figure it out?!" Denki wailed.

"Like we did every other time this happens!" Mezou yelled. "Use our investigation clues to figure it out!"

"Hey hey, we can't do that if don't have any basic info to work with!" Nejire piped up in response to the Heavylifter.

"It's impossible!" Eijirou wailed.

Yaomomo's eyes flitted anxiously from person to person in the trial room. The voices were rising, bouncing off the walls and encasing everyone in layers of horrible sound that instilled a ringing deep in the girl's ears. _Calm down. Everyone has to calm down._

_Come on, what can I say to restore order..?_

"Come on guys! I have an idea!" Mashirao suddenly called out over the din. Everyone instantly shut up.

"So, we have to either confirm or disprove this theory to move on, right?" Mashirao said. "Since we can't confirm it, we just have to disprove it!"

"And how do we do that?" Mezou asked.

"Well, the File says Kyouka died of a pierced heart and Katsuki died of heart attack, right? So we just have to prove those two facts, and the theory will be disproved. If we can't, then we can consider it. Or we can ask Monokuma himself." Mashirao turned to look at the bear. "Monokuma? Can you confirm or disprove?"

"My lips are zipped!" Monokuma grinned. "You can't ask me anything about anything!" Over his ears, Toga gave a small, fang-toothed smile.

Mashirao sighed. "Then we'll figure it out ourselves."

"So... Kyouka..." Fumikage pressed the discussion onwards. "She died of a pierced heart. So in turn, we must figure out what the weapon used to kill her was."

"Then let's discuss," Nejire prompted.

_Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Syringe, Dart, Fumikage's Account, Monokuma File #4, Shouto's Theory<_

"Kyouka was killed from a pierced heart. That must mean the weapon is something sharp that they stabbed her with!" Izuku declared.

"But we have to find that item. We've got to find **something at the scene,"** Hitoshi insisted.

"If it was used to stab her, it must **have blood on it,"** Tamaki reasoned softly.

_>have blood on it : Copy!<_

"Ooh! I bet they used a **dart!"** Nejire jumped to speak out.

"Perhaps it was a regular old **knife** that they took out of the kitchen," Hitoshi said.

"How about **broken glass?"** Tsuyu suggested.

"Maybe a **javelin?"** Mirio mused.

_There's something wrong with one of those statements... Come on, what is it?_

_>Discussion : Repeat<_

"Kyouka was killed by a pierced heart. That must mean the weapon is something sharp that they stabbed her with!" Izuku declared.

"But we have to find that item. We've got to find **something at the scene,"** Hitoshi insisted.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>have blood on it : Counter!<_

"There was nothing at the scene that could be used as a weapon and actually had blood on it," Yaomomo said. "Tamaki is right; the murder weapon would certainly be bloodied if it was used to stab her heart."

"So the killer killed her with something else, and left?" Mei asked.

Yaomomo nodded. "Yeah, that's righ-"

_"I disagree with that!"_

_>Break!<_

"I still think the dart was used!" Nejire declared boldly.

"Wh- Nejire, I don't think-"

"Hey, I want to speak my mind here too!" The blue-haired girl replied. "Equal voices, equal debate, right?"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Nejire Hadou : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Fumikage's Autopsy - Kyouka, Mezou's Account, Syringe, Dart, Flask, Denki's Account, Syringe, Kyouka's Blood Pool<_

"So, you guys found a dart by the weights, right?" Nejire began. "That dart had poison on it. Why would there be poison on the dart if it were not to be used as a weapon in the murder? It makes perfect sense!"

"But there was no blood on the dart. How would have the killer used a dart to stab someone and gotten no blood on it at all?" Yaomomo retorted.

"They **poisoned her!** They must've stabbed her in the heart with a poison-coated arrow, and the poison flowed through her, **infecting her entire body-"**

_"I will cut through your argument!"_

_>Fumikage's Autopsy - Kyouka : Cut!<_

"Hey, how's that wrong? What if the File was wrong?!" Nejire protested.

"The File may have been wrong, but one person would've immediately realized that if your claim were true," Yaomomo said. "Fumikage did an autopsy on Kyouka. If she'd been poisoned, then he would've instantly noticed the signs of poisoning."

"Indeed. There would've been discoloring, swollen patches, inflammation, blue tongue, tinted skin, those kinds of symptoms. I noticed none. Only slashed organs. It was a mere bloodbath, with a lack of hidden tricks," Fumikage said.

"Oh. I guess that does make sense," Nejire said thoughtfully, sounding defeated and tired.

"Anyway... is there any way to actually determine what Kyouka's murder weapon was, if it was taken away?" Izuku questioned.

"Probably not. But judging by the shape and size of the slit-shaped hole in her heart, I believe it was a blade," Fumikage replied. "And the depth of the wound suggests it was thrown, since outright stabbing would've created a deeper indent. However, what was used is unlikely to be important, though, considering our other clues."

"So now that the matter of Kyouka's murder weapon has been determined, we should move on to Katsuki. The File says he died of heart attack. How is _that_ possible?" Mezou inquired.

"Well, what other strange stuff did we see around the scene of the crime?" Mei prompted.

"There was the dart, the flask of poison, the syringe, and of course all the various items around the gym. However, no equipment had any trace of blood on them except the syringe, which was hidden in Katsuki's body, so it would obviously be bloodied," Shouto said.

"Can poison cause a heart attack?" Eijirou asked.

"Some poisons can. Hemlock can shut down the entire central nervous system. In fact, most poisons are neurotoxins designed to do that," Tsuyu spoke up.

"How do you know so much about poison?" Mezou asked in a questionable tone.

"When I was a frog hero, I studied some of these types of things. I wanted to see if I could develop my quirk so I could secrete a stronger poison," Tsuyu explained. "However, the poison we found in the vent was clearly a lethal venom, secreted from a venomous snake or spider. It would not stimulate a heart attack, of all things."

"Alright, then which of the items do you believe was used in the murder of Katsuki Bakugou?" Fumikage asked, his eyes fixed on Yaomomo. He clearly expected her to answer.

_Out of the four items; javelin, dart, poison, and syringe... it's got to be- that one!_

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Syringe : I can see it now!<_

_>Break!<_

"The syringe... it's the only possibility," Yaomomo said slowly. "But how?"

"Have you ever heard of how injecting a syringe of air between a person's toes will kill them?" Fumikage asked. "This is called an air embolism. Air enters a vein or artery and blocks it, causing a heart attack."

"Oh... so it all makes sense now!" Nejire remarked. "The killer injected air into Katsuki's artery and caused a heart attack. And they hid the syringe in his corpse! So cruel, so creative..." She trailed off, her voice wavering.

"So the File was right," Eijirou said slowly, shakily. "and Shouto's Theory is wrong."

"Ah. I admit to being wrong, then," Shouto said calmly, "That is the nature of theorizing. You must be prepared to admit defeat."

"However, this discussion has also confirmed another one of my suspicions," Mirio spoke up. "The disembowelment happened after the victims were killed. If they'd been killed by the disembowelment process, the File would've said so."

"Then what was used to disembowel them?" Mei asked.

"Likely some small blade or other sharp object- Kyouka's murder weapon, perhaps. The slashed wounds said as much, and you need something that's sharp enough to cut through skin and muscle," Fumikage replied. "And of course, they took it away with them. Besides, it should be relatively unimportant unless we see otherwise later."

"Then let's move on," Yaomomo pressed. "Nejire did remind me of something... I'd like to talk about the dart."

"Oh, the poison dart," Tsuyu remarked.

"Are we sure the poison in the flask was the poison on the dart?" Tooru asked for confirmation.

"Yes. I checked; it's a match," Tsuyu replied.

"So where did the poison itself come from?" Tamaki asked. "We should figure that out first, instead of trying to figure out how the dart ties into the case, if we can establish that..."

"Do we know where in the school poison can be found?" Mezou asked.

_Poison in the school... you'd find it in..._

_>Choose the Answer!_

_Closet_

_Nurse's Office_

_Vending Machine_

_Kitchen<_

_..._

_>Vending Machine : I got it!<_

"The vending machine in the cafeteria... the lower row of the machine dispensed poisons. There was one of each. Last I checked was last evening, at about six o'clock for dinner, and all the poison was still there," Yaomomo said.

"Then someone took poison from the vending machine after you left and before midnight," Fumikage said. "Does anybody have any idea who it may have been?"

_Someone who has an idea of who it may have been- I know who..._

_>Select Someone!<_

_..._

_>Denki Kaminari : It's got to be you!<_

"Denki. You may have seen something," Yaomomo said.

"Wh-What?!" Denki jumped, eyes widening. "A-Are you suspecting me?!"

"No, not at all," Yaomomo soothed her voice to calm the anxious teen. "But you... you and Kyouka were together in the cafeteria until eleven. When did you get there?"

"About six-thirty," Denki replied shakily.

"So you would've seen anybody who tried to use the vending machine," Yaomomo said. "It's perfect. So, did anybody use the vending machine while you were there?"

"Umm, umm- no. Nobody except... Kyouka. She got up to get a bottle of water. She came back with exactly that," Denki said slowly, his voice slowly tapering off. "No... no, that can't be right."

"The poison is Kyouka's," Fumikage mused softly. "That lines up with Mezou's account, too. He said she headed straight to the darts station. She must've brought the poison in the flask with her, and dipped the dart then."

_Wait a minute... _

_Kyouka... poisoned the dart? Why... why would she..?_

"Wh-What? Kyouka... tried to kill?!" Nejire yelped. "But- how..?"

"I agree with Nejire," Yaomomo spoke up, her voice small. "Kyouka... No, I don't think it's in her nature to do such a thing..."

She didn't want to even consider this outrageous, insane possibility. Kyouka? _Kyouka?!_ Her best friend tried to _kill_ someone? No, that couldn't be right. Absolutely not... it was impossible...

"Nature has nothing to do with this," Shouto said patiently. "I thought we already established that. In this foul place, nobody can be entirely trusted to not have the _nature_ to kill. Would anybody have expected sweet Ochako to kill? Or good-natured Yuga? Or Hanta and Mina, who used to be the best of friends? Nothing can be ruled out here."

"Shouto is right. We cannot rule of the possibility of Kyouka trying to kill somebody on something so shallow," Fumikage said. "Have you all learned nothing over these past few weeks? You have to believe that _anyone_ would kill."

"N-No! No, it can't be!" Yaomomo cried, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to believe it... Not Kyouka, not her best friend... she was already dead, and to think her final thoughts had been of murder would be too much.

Inside, somewhere in her head, she knew she was stupid and ignorant to think such a thing. But she didn't want to believe it... 

And maybe, to fight against it would make it false.

"I... I stand by Yaomomo!" Denki called out, her voice breaking. His eyes shone with disbelief, with tears, with blind wishes and fear.

"I agree with her, too!" Nejire yelped.

"How fucking stupid... it's like Ochako all over again, except this time there's half the class defending the wrong side," Mezou grumbled bitterly.

_"HOLD ON!"_

_>Break!<_

"'Half the class defending the wrong side?! You guys have got another split opinion?" Monokuma grinned. "In that case... it's time... FOR A SCRUM DEBAAAAATTTTEEEEE!"

"Hehehe... this'll be fun!" Toga smiled and threw Monokuma the controller. He snatched it, inserted the key, and the trial room began to glow.

***

_For_ Yaomomo _of all people to side so blindly on the blatantly wrong side of an argument... how surprising,_ Fumikage mused, observing her from his side of the debate. _Are her emotions getting the best of her ration judgement? Disappointing, I must say._

_And because of her, everyone else got riled up... she really has a way with the class, doesn't she? Enough so to drag us all into this pointless argument._

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_Did Kyouka intend to kill with poison?_

_Kyouka did not intend to kill: Yaomomo, Tsuyu, Tooru, Nejire, Mei, Denki_

_Kyouka intended to kill: Tamaki, Mirio, Izuku, Fumikage, Mashirao, Eijirou, Mezou, Shouto, Hitoshi<_

"There's no way Kyouka has the nature to kill someone!" Yaomomo declared, her voice desperate for her wish to be the truth.

_"Mezou."_

"In this game, you cannot deny someone's actions with their **'nature',"** Mezou retorted bitterly. _Recalling Ochako, are you?_

"Her behavior was fine before... she wasn't acting odd!" Denki claimed.

_"Shouto."_

"That's incorrect; her **behavior** has been odd since Yuga's crime," Shouto replied.

"It's impossible for Kyouka to be the killer when she died before Katsuki!" Nejire reasoned.

_"I'll do it."_

"Kyouka may not have succeeded in being a **killer,** but she had intended to," Fumikage stated.

"What reason would Kyouka have for killing?" Mei inquired.

_"Mirio."_

"Perhaps her **reason** was for her family, and she was inspired by Yuga's escape," Mirio suggested.

"Who was Kyouka targeting anyway, out of all her friends?" Tsuyu asked, in a last ditch attempt to turn the argument around. _Odd for her, of all people, to defend that someone couldn't have been cruel._

_"Tamaki."_

"She could've **targeted** anyone, especially someone she didn't know too well," Tamaki murmured. _Like Mei, or Hitoshi, or the Big Three._

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>D - W - D - A<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"You can all quit your petty argument now," Fumikage hissed, eyeing the girls and Denki as the podiums began to shift back into circle formation. "It's a waste of time to argue something so blatantly clear. Kyouka obtained poison from the vending machine and intended to kill someone, only to have her victim retaliate and kill her."

"Yaomomo... please," Izuku murmured, his voice soft. "I know that you don't want to believe it... I know you don't want to think that, in her last moments, Kyouka had been trying to kill someone. But it's the truth. And that's the reality of our life here... that the truth is never what you want it to be."

Yaomomo stared, stunned, her silver eyes wide as she looked from one person to another. The other girls and Denki merely looked forlorn, their gazes lowered. It was, of course, reasonable: Yaomomo had merely gotten their emotions working out of impulsiveness. There was no rationale, so it was relatively easy to convince them of the truth.

But finally, wordlessly, Yaomomo, too, gave in, and averted her eyes to the railing of her podium. "Fine," she muttered. "Fine." She looked back up at her classmates. "If we're going to find the truth, then we should continue."

***

_Just don't think about it._

"If we're going to find the truth, then we should continue," she said, her eyes shifting from classmate to classmate. _They're right. It's the truth... and I have to just take it._

_Grieve later... remember later._

_But right now, it's time to solve this case._

_Because whether or not Kyouka tried to kill... she's dead now. Dead because someone took her life, ripped it from her with their own hands... so I have to do her justice._

"Um, if we're going to continue... I think we should discuss the dart. Why is it on the floor?" Mei spoke up, keeping the conversation moving.

"She probably missed," Hitoshi said. "Since nobody died of poisoning, and the poison was all still on the dart anyway."

"And how does Katsuki's death tie into this?" Mezou asked.

"Oh, I know!" Tooru piped up. "What if he was Kyouka's true victim, and he was killed for being the Porcupine Bomber?"

"That's reasonable," Izuku mused. "The last case was caused by that. Who's to say it isn't the same this time?"

"But that wouldn't make any sense," Mirio said. "According to Mezou, when Kyouka entered the gym, Katsuki was nowhere to be found. It's presumable she had the flask on her and was going to get the dart. And then what? She'd wait in the gym with her weapon ready? There's any number of people who could see her then, including Mezou. It'd be suspicious any way you looked at it."

"So Kyouka wouldn't have gone to the gym so early if she was intending to kill Katsuki, knowing he would arrive by midnight?" Yaomomo asked softly.

"Yup," Mirio affirmed. "I'm guessing that, for once, his Bomber history had nothing to do with the case."

"On that note, I have a better idea," Fumikage spoke up. "He died outside the gym, judging by the lack of stray bloodstains on the gym floor, which is rather strange. If the killer had killed Kyouka before midnight and disemboweled her, it's certainly likely he walked in on the scene or saw the killer leaving, bloody and battered. They could've killed him to tie up the loose ends."

"That sure sounds likely," Tamaki agreed. "It all lines up- the timing and location."

"How cruel... so Kacchan died... just because he saw too much?" Izuku asked, his voice shaking.

"They never intended to kill him... He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Shouto murmured, a whimper in his throat.

Eijirou was silent. His face was stricken, his eyes squeezed shut. Yaomomo decided not to bother him, allow him to grieve in silence.

"But following the Bomber logic, if Kyouka had gone there intending to kill, she must've followed someone, invited someone under the pretense of training, or knew they'd be there and went looking," Mashirao pushed the debate onwards. "Like Mirio said, waiting is illogical since you could be seen. If she'd gone looking for someone, who else was in the gym?"

"Um, Mezou," Denki replied quickly. "He was the only one reported to have been in the gym at the time. He'd said he saw Kyouka enter."

"But what if he was the victim-turned-killer? Then it'd make sense for him to lie," Tamaki accused.

"Hey! Don't blame me again!" Mezou yelped, but everyone opted to ignore him.

"I agree with Tamaki. We found the dart by the weights, and Mezou was working on the weights, right? If Kyouka had missed her shot, that's the perfect place for it to land," Mirio reasoned.

"Well, that's inconclusive. He could also be telling the truth and the invited victim arrived later," Fumikage butted in.

"Yeah! What if he's telling the truth and Kyouka just invited someone to go train with her much later, and she really had showed up early to set up her plot? So she could shoot them at the door," Mei reasoned.

"Then why's the dart by the weights?" Tamaki asked.

"She could've attempted to shoot them once they'd entered and gone in that direction, towards her," Mashirao argued. "Or she could've missed into the door or hallway, and the victim-turned-killer moved it to throw us off."

Yaomomo's eyes flickered from person to person as the argument slowly escalated, her voice silent as she watched the people around her becoming more and more agitated.

_We're not getting anywhere with this. And if we don't solve this..._

_What will happen to us?_

Then, above all the clamor, a single voice rose to snag everyone's attention.

"Wait! I just realized- I know who the killer is!"


	26. Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 6 - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: disembowelment/gutspill (again)

"What do you mean, you know who the killer is?" Mezou questioned, turning to fixate his eyes on Shouto, who'd spoken out. "And besides, the last _theory_ you concocted was flat-out wrong."

"Well, this one may not be," Shouto shrugged. "I just remembered something odd about a certain object near Kyouka's body. It's a big clue. Yaomomo, you must recall, right?"

_Why push it onto me?_ Yaomomo complained internally. _I guess I'll have to do it... the clue Shouto speaks of... oh, that-_

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Blood pool - Kyouka : I got it!<_

"You must mean Kyouka's blood puddle. Fumikage's feather was in it, and I fell in it, right?"

"Remember the details of the feather," Shouto insisted. "If you think it through, it'll become clear."

_If I think it through, it's clear..? What am I supposed to learn from a puddle and a feather?_

_I have to figure this out... for Kyouka's sake. Yes, I'd like to think about it that way._

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: What place in the blood was the feather?_  
_Left: On the surface of the blood_  
_Right: Buried in the blood_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What was the texture of the blood like at the start of investigation?_

_Left: Wet and fresh_  
_Right: Sticky and dry_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: When did the feather fall into the blood?_  
_Left: Before investigation_  
_Right: During investigation_  
_Left: Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: Buried in the blood_  
_Question 2: Sticky and dry_  
_Question 3: Before investigation<_

_>Break!<_

As she put the pieces together in her head, Yaomomo felt a lightbulb in her mind go off like a nuclear bomb, a revelation that was both heart-wrenching and groundbreaking at once. Her chest tightened, as if a knife had been driven into her heart. _Why you, of all people..?_ "Oh... I get it now. It's all coming together... The killer... it really is you..."

_>Select someone!<_

_..._

_>Fumikage Tokoyami : You're the only one...<_

"F-Fumikage... it can't be..." Yaomomo stared at him in distress.

"Hmm?" Fumikage blinked back at her, feigning innocence, although the subtle ruffling of his feathers made it clear that she'd hit the jackpot.

"The feather... we know it's yours, that part is obvious. But since the body discovery, the blood has been dry. If your feather had fallen in the blood during investigation, it would've stuck to the _top_ of the blood. But it's not. The fact the feather is buried in blood makes it clear that it'd fallen in while the blood was fresh," Yaomomo explained, her hands shaking. She was still disbelieving, despite the logical truth her words held.

"So therefore, he was present at Kyouka's body when she'd just died," Tamaki spoke up softly.

"You've got to be the killer, Fumikage. The feather doesn't lie," Shouto said cooly. "And besides, it's not like your alibi says anything in your defense either."

Fumikage merely sighed, keeping his cool. "Look. Following that logic, if I were the killer, how would I leave the gym?"

"Hey, stop trying to distract us," Eijirou snarled, rage overcoming his grief in the moment. He was obviously already becoming angry at the accused Nightwalker, realizing that he was Katsuki's murderer.

"Eijirou. He does have a point, you know. We do have to figure that out, regardless of who the Blackened is," Izuku said softly. Eijirou visibly sighed a little, but kept his mouth shut.

"So, how about it? How did the killer leave the gym?" Tamaki prompted.

"Well, they obviously left out the door," Mezou said bluntly.

"Yeah, that's the most plausible, but there's other ways out, too. Where there's blood, there's murder," Hitoshi said.

"And where there's a dead body, there's murder too," Eijirou muttered bitterly. Everyone opted to ignore him.

"Well, there could be any number of escape paths," Fumikage spoke up. "Shall we talk about it?"

"No."

"I beg your pardon?" Fumikage glanced, surprised, at Shouto's resilience to a discussion.

"No, there's one way out of the gym that would explain a crucial piece of evidence, something that would be unexplainable if the killer hadn't taken this one particular path," Shouto said. "You know what it is, right, Yaomomo? You were the one who investigated it yourself, after all."

_A certain way out the gym, a way that explains an odd piece of evidence... I can see it now..._

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_How did the killer leave the gym?_

_>🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_>THROUGH THE VENT : I got it!<_

_>Break!<_

"That's it... the kil- _Fumikage_ left through the vent," Yaomomo said, making sure to double back and use Fumikage's name in place of an anonymous nobody. "That would explain the bl-"

_"I will not let this go on!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold up, hold up. You're saying the killer -who is, as of now, still inconclusive- went through the vent?! Are you serious?" Mezou asked coldly, a sizzling, volcanic rage boiling just under the frozen surface. "That's ridiculous! I won't let it go by!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Mezou Shouji : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Denki's Account, Mirio's Account, Fumikage's Account, Syringe, Javelin, Blood in Vent, Dart, Blood pool - Kyouka<_

"So, you claim the killer went through the vent? How ridiculous! Why would the killer go through the vent if the door's right there anyway?!" Mezou began.

"Well, Katsuki's body was blocking the door, so it wasn't 'right there' for someone to easily leave out of," Yaomomo replied smoothly.

"That's exactly my point! Who'd be there to **move the body** if the killer didn't leave through the door?!" Mezou retorted. "And besides, it's **not like there's any more evidence** of the killer actually going through the vent than a couple of blood smears."

_"I will cut through your words!"_

_>Mirio's Account : Cut!<_

"Actually, there _is_ more evidence of someone travelling through the vents," Yaomomo said. She could feel a tightness in her chest, and tears behind her eyes. "Mirio. Could you explain to Mezou?"

"Sure! In the early hours of the morning, I heard a faint, muffled thumping sound pass by my room. It sounded as if it were coming from through the wall... or _in_ the wall. I had heard someone passing by my dorm through the vents. It's unmistakable," Mirio elaborated.

"That's-" Mezou began to speak, but Nejire cut him off.

"Oh! And that explains the blood smears in the vent, too! Disemboweling two people must've gotten messy, and the blood got all over the killer's clothes. So when they crawled through the vent, they must've trailed it," the Beauty Pageant Star said.

"However, Mezou, your rant did bring up another good point," Tooru piped up. "If the killer left through the vents, how _did_ Katsuki's body get moved?"

"Maybe the killer didn't move it. Maybe..." Shouto paused. "There was an accomplice."

_An accomplice?_ A murmur spread throughout the trial room.

"Don't be ridiculous," Mezou growled. "An accomplice? There is next to no conclusive evidence of that."

"No, there is," Mashirao cut in. "Remember the Body Announcement rule. It only plays when three or more people, excluding the killer, have seen the body. To Mirio's word, when the Body Discovery for Kyouka played, only he and Yaomomo were present.

"Technically, if nobody had seen Kyouka's body before then spare for the killer, the announcement should not have played for the two of them. However, it did, which must mean another person had seen her corpse before them."

"He's completely right," Mirio confirmed.

"So... an accomplice," Yaomomo pondered slowly. _That sure throws a wrench in the conclusion of Fumikage being the Blackened._ "Going off of our _justified_ conclusion from earlier, if Fumikage had been at Kyouka's body when she had just died, he could either be the killer or accomplice. But either way... his account is a lie."

"Was there someone else whose alibi lines up with his?" Nejire asked.

"No, not exactly," Izuku said. "But I think I have evidence that Fumikage is the... killer... and not the accomplice."

"Go on," Tooru implored.

"Well, a few days ago, Shouto and I were taking a walk at about midnight to walk off a nightmare. We passed by the gym. Mezou and Fumikage were there. They were making light conversation.

"Fumikage was at the javelins. His throwing was so accurate that every time, it landed on or in close range of the bulls-eye. Remember what he said earlier? How the wound looked like it'd been from a thrown knife?"

"Not only that, but... they have been getting awful close recently," Tsuyu noted.

"You say that like it's a negative!" Mezou accused. "And besides, what's wrong with us interacting? And what's so suspicious about that?"

"It means that, if Fumikage were an unplanned killer, then you could've very well accepted to being an unplanned accomplice," Mashirao said, his voice cold as frost.

"An unplanned accomplice? Me?!" Mezou was in a frenzy. "That's absurd! I'd never agree to that!"

"How do we know that?" Yaomomo questioned. "Remember during investigation... how Fumikage insisted on getting your account. If he is the killer, that'd make sense. You two came up with matching alibis that worked in your own favor, didn't you?

"And when it was time to leave the scene, you left through the door and shifted Katsuki's body to create a locked room, while Fumikage used the vents after disemboweling his victims. Isn't that right, Mezou?!" Her voice was chiseled, edged with anger. _For Kyouka..._

Fumikage was silent, his eyes closed and arms crossed. Mezou was glaring openly at every student in the room, his eyes darting from side to side. He was breaking out in a sweat. _He's really lost it, hasn't he?_

_That just proves I'm right, though._

"Okay. Mezou, for one, calm down," Fumikage spoke. Mezou turned on his shorter friend, as if about to snap something in reply, but held back from doing so.

"And if you all truly believe this nonsense Yaomomo is spouting... let me ask you: If I were the killer, then why would I give you not one, but two honest autopsies? I noted there was no poison. I noted the destroyed organs. I told you the truth. Do you think I lied? I didn't, since my information has carried us through this trial with logic and truth." Fumikage fixed Yaomomo with his red eyes. "I'm right. Admit it."

Yaomomo stared at him for a moment. She was barely fazed by the intensity of his stare, meeting it with her own fiery eyes. "No. I won't."

"Mmh."

His indifference made her insides boil even more violently than before. _The killer of Kyouka... he's standing right here, before me..._ "I'll force you to speak the truth, which I know you're hiding, Fumikage Tokoyami!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Fumikage's Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1<_

"Come on, Yaomomo." <> (W) (W) (A)

"Think it over again in that brain of yours." <> (D) (D) (D) (A) (S)

"I gave you evidence." <> (S) (S) (D)

"I gave you autopsies and the entire truth." <> (A) (A) (A) (D) (W)

"I would have no reason to reveal something only I can prove if it does not benefit me." <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Advance : Phase 2<_

"Why are you so stubborn today?" (S) (S) (A - Hold)

"Are you allowing your emotions to get the better of you?" (W-A-S-D)

"You know you can't do that." (W) (W) (S) (S)

"Because in this game..." (A) (A) (S - Hold)

"There is only the cold truth." (W-A-S-D)

"Why don't you pursue that instead of me, hm?" (W) (W) (A) (A) (D - Hold)

_>Advance : Phase 3<_

"Yaomomo, stop it!" <> (W) (W - Hold)

"Do I have to spell it out for you again?" <> (S) (S) (S) (D) (D)

"Why would I give you two correct autopsies..." <> (W) (W) (W) (A) (A) (A)

"Why would I give you evidence..." <> (W) (S) (S) (S)

"Why would I give you an account at all..." <> (D) (D) (D) (A) (A)

"If I were the killer?" (S) (S - Hold)

"It's remarkably unlikely for I to be the culprit." (W) (D) (A) (S) (W) (W) (W)

_>Final Blow!<_

__

_>W = Honest_  
_A = Dis_  
_S = Ulti_  
_D = Mate<_

"Why did I give you honest autopsies if I were the killer themself?"

_"This is why!"_

_>A-W-S-D : DisHonestUltiMate : Break!<_

"Alright, first, you weren't exactly honest this time. You didn't reveal the syringe, which you must've found in your shuffling of Katsuki's organs during your autopsy. Even Eijirou, who wasn't even looking for evidence, saw it immediately," Yaomomo said. "And second, I think the question you should be asking is just _how_ you even gave honest autopsies in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Fumikage asked, feigning innocence once more. Yaomomo could feel her insides boiling with contained rage. "I did because I could."

"How could you have given such autopsies from the start? How were you so comfortable with a dead body and extracting a needle from Rikidou's bloody throat from the start?" Yaomomo confronted. "Can you answer that?"

Fumikage hesitated, as if debating whether or not to speak out.

"Fine," he said slowly. "It's because I've dealt with death before." He opted to speak out.

"How?" Yaomomo pressed.

"Well, many things happen under the cover of the night, you know. I'm a nightwalker. You'd think I'd see some things that may not have been under the sun," Fumikage stated.

"I wouldn't believe that for a moment. Crime resulting in death doesn't happen that often with the night patrols of heroes, and besides, why and how would you interact with said dead bodies anyway?" Yaomomo paused for effect. "Maybe... because you were the one who killed them?"

"What are you getting at?" Fumikage's voice had become cold, and his eyes turned into hard lead.

"I'm saying, you're not the Ultimate Nightwalker," Yaomomo claimed. "You made that up, didn't you? To hide your true identity. Something darker... something along the lines of genocider or hitman, perhaps," she ventured. "And this idea of an Ultimate also explains how you'd have knives and a syringe on you in the first place, since you were an _unplanned_ killer. You have so many pockets, too... it'd be easy to hide your little weapons. Isn't that right?"

Fumikage stared at her, his crimson eyes wide, feathers spiking in alarm. Then he sighed, deflating, as if accepting his fate. He sagged slightly, and for once Yaomomo saw him as a small, thin teen, the same age as her, regretful that his spur-of-the-moment choice to kill had been his demise.

It was only for a moment, though, before he shifted back into being the blood-stained murderer of her best friend.

"Fine. You're right. I give up." Fumikage's feathers were drooping. He looked up, his round red eyes meeting Yaomomo's. "Here."

"Wh- wait! Fumikage, no, you can't just- give up- Fumikage!" Mezou went haywire on his podium, eyes wide with urgency, hands gripping the wood railing hard enough to leave an indentation and cause splinters to erupt from the smooth oak. "Fumikage! No, listen- come on, keep trying-! Fumikage!"

"It's alright, Mezou." Fumikage paused, his hand in his inner jacket pocket, and turned to meet Mezou's wild eyes with calm, collected crimson orbs. "It's too late. I'll figure it out, okay? And as for you... keep living. Keep living, okay? Don't become like me."

Fumikage dipped his beak again and slipped two items out of his pocket. He opened his left hand first, revealing a small silver blade in its gloved palm. The knife had a black ivory handle, engraved with cryptic markings. "My weapon of choice. I used it to kill Kyouka and disembowel her and Katsuki. It's a signature of mine."

"A signature-? Oh god, no, Fumi-!" Tsuyu blurted out, her eyes widening as she realized the reality of his words.

"And my key. Take it." Fumikage threw the trinket in his right hand to Yaomomo. She caught it clumsily out of haste and adrenaline-fueled jolts of energy. She examined its top side.

It was a sleek, silver key with flecks of pink imbedded in it, as if mimicking blood splatters. On the enamel-ridged, dark indigo tag, it read _'Tokoyami, Fumikage'_ in ornate gold.

And when she flipped it over...

"The Ultimate Assassin." Yaomomo stared at the tag for a dark second, before raising her gaze to look to Fumikage. He was silent, his arms crossed and eyes closed. His beak dipped, as if waiting for everyone to react.

But nobody did.

It was silent in the trial room.

Silent as everyone merely gazed at Fumikage, wondering how they could've been ever so wrong about their friend.

Yaomomo herself felt disconnected as reality hit her. _I was right._ The various thoughts inside of her clashed like swords, her anger and betrayal and sorrow and grief mixing up into... whatever this was.

Monokuma was the one who broke that silence.

"Upupu! It seems you've all come to a decision! In that case, it's voting time!" Behind the artificial creature, Toga grinned and flashed her own knife, twirling it.

That blade in her deadly little hand seemed so insignificant compared to the one in Fumikage's, it made Yaomomo feel hollow all over.

Hollow as she realized what all this meant.

"W-Wait. Monokuma, please wait," she blurted out, the words sliding off of her stiff tongue.

"Hm? What is it, my dear Yaoyorozu?" The bear gave her a wicked grin.

"W-We have to do the... the closing argument. Go over it again. Make sure there's no inconsistencies in our case." She swallowed, waiting for Monokuma to object.

But he didn't. "Upupu! I guess it is a staple of class trials, so go right ahead!"

_Alright. Alright then._

_I just have to restate the facts, right? So don't get angry... don't get sad... just don't get_ anything. 

_Recount the case..._

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

"Late last night, the killer and Mezou were in the gym training, Mezou with weights, and the killer with javelins.

"Kyouka entered the gym. She had on her a flask of poison, which she'd gotten from the vending machine in the cafeteria. She had full intent to kill that night, but unbeknownst to her, it was she who was about to be killed.

"She headed straight to the darts station. She took a dart, dipped the tip in poison, and shot it at Mezou.

"However, she missed, alerting the killer of her misdeed. The killer attacked her in retaliation for trying to kill Mezou, their friend, using a knife. They threw it at her, which impaled itself in her heart.

"The killer approached Kyouka and proceeded to disembowel her corpse, reusing the same knife they'd used to kill her. However, as they did this, someone happened to walk in at just the wrong time. It was Katsuki, who had been coming to the gym for his daily midnight training. He realized that the killer had seen him and likely tried to run, but was caught immediately by the killer, who raced towards him as soon as they saw him.

"The killer attacked Katsuki, whipping out the syringe they had on them. They injected an empty tube of air into one of Katsuki's arteries or veins. The most likely and easiest to reach is his neck artery, but it's irrelevant to the case.

"This injection of air into his artery caused an air embolism, triggering a heart attack in turn. Katsuki swiftly died. The killer followed to disembowel his body as well. They hid the syringe -the murder weapon- among the organs before closing the door and leaving his corpse outside.

"They must've earlier asked Mezou to work as their unplanned accomplice, since Mezou then followed to move the body so that it propped against the door. This prevented the door from being opened from the outside, inconveniencing whoever was to discover Kyouka while creating a more complex case. Mezou left the scene after that, hasty to get back to him room unseen.

"Inside the gym, the killer was alone with Kyouka's body, which they'd disemboweled earlier. How were they so calm doing this? Because... their Ultimate talent... is the Ultimate Assassin. They have experience, which explains why they're carrying around weapons and have such a knowledge of the human body. Their signature in their murders was disembowelment.

"Disemboweling the two bodies must've gotten blood on their clothes, but they were unbothered. As they left the body and began their escape plan, they accidentally left behind a critical piece of evidence, though... a black feather in the pool of blood around Kyouka. It must've fallen out during the disembowelment process, as it was buried in blood. This was proof that this specific person was present while the blood was still fresh and flowing.

"The killer hid Kyouka's flask in the vent by the gym, leaving the dart on the floor- a fatal mistake. They kept the knife used for disembowelment on them, most likely in a pocket. They then began crawling through the vents. Most likely blindly, while also following a mental map of the school layout from hours of walking around it under the cover of night. They passed by some of the dorms, including Mirio's, before reaching their own, where they were safe in isolation.

"And the mastermind behind this case... was Fumikage Tokoyami... the Ultimate Assassin."

_>Break!<_

For a moment, all was quiet. Before Fumikage began to laugh.

It was a dull, sad, little chuckle. But it was enough to send another stab of emotion through Yaomomo's chest, clenching her lungs. _What is that emotion? I'm not sure anymore. They all seem the same to me._

_Is it sadness?_

_Or is it anger?_

"You're so unbelievably correct that it makes me think you'd seen me yourself, Yaomomo. Come on, hurry it up with the voting."

The voting was silent. Everyone simply clicked their levers into place without hesitation; was it because they genuinely saw Fumikage as a natured murderer, or because they just wanted it to all be over already? Yaomomo wasn't sure.

The machine erupted in a cacophony of lights, coins, and ringing techno bells. Exactly as expected.

_>Class Trial : End!<_

"Upupupu! You were right! The blackened this time was Fumikage Tokoyami!" Monokuma laughed, his sharp, robotic teeth flashing in the eerie lighting of the trial room.

"No... Fumikage..." Tsuyu whispered shakily. "Tell me... tell me that isn't true..."

_She's obviously sad,_ Yaomomo observed. _That much is clear._

_So what am I?_

_Do I have to choose? It seems like such a pain..._

Fumikage was silent. His eyes were closed, his arms crossed across his chest.

_It's all true. He's the Ultimate Assassin..._

_That means... That means he's a murderer, a murderer of dozens, dozens, maybe even a hundred, and that includes our two classmates, one of whom was my best friend and the other... the other a classmate._

_He killed them, just like he killed all those nameless strangers that gave him the title of Ultimate Assassin._

"Fumikage..." Izuku spoke up. His voice trembled as he stared at his friend. "Why... why did you do it..?"

Fumikage sighed and raised his eyes to meet Izuku's. Yaomomo suddenly glimpsed, for a moment, Kyouka's crimson iris staring at her, observing her with its warm, yet sharp gaze. And then she blinked, and it was all gone; just Fumikage, and his eyes the color of dry blood.

And in that moment, she realized, in a passionate, violent burst of inspiration, that she hated those crimson irises more than death itself. 

"I never wanted to kill them," he said. "I didn't want that fiery rival of yours to die, nor the Musician. They were my peers too, or have you forgotten?"

"Kyouka and Katsuki. They had names!" Yaomomo suddenly screamed, her words impulsively rushing over her tongue. Anger reached a boiling point in her chest, her sorrow trampled over by her rage. _How dare he not even have the courage to utter their identities, as if it lightens the blow?!_

"Or have you forgotten?" she continued, her voice laced with venom as she intended to burn him beyond repair with it. "How many people's lives have your fingers graced since the day you killed your first target in some shady back alley? How many innocent people have you killed? Do you count the number of lives you've cut short, and dreams you've snatched away? Is the number so high that taking your own friends' lives meant nothing more to you than another tally in the list?!"

"Yaomomo-"

"You killed my _friend,_ my best friend Kyouka," Yaomomo spat, not allowing him to spew his rancid words at her. "And you also killed Katsuki. A murderer for a murderer. Fitting, huh?"

"Yaomomo. I do not go around killing as I please," Fumikage replied calmly. "Do you know of the murderer that goes by the alias Justice's Blade?"

"Why, yes, I do happen to know who that is," Yaomomo snapped.

"Yeah, we've all heard of Justice's Blade. He's infamous..." Nejire's voice trailed off. "Oh... no, you don't mean-"

"I am Justice's Blade," Fumikage continued. "I killed criminals to bring them to justice."

A stunned silence fell over the trial room. It was like the quiet before the storm, because it was at that moment that Yaomomo exploded.

"That's all you have to say in your defense?!" she wailed. "What did Kyouka ever do to fit your criteria of _criminal?!_ Kyouka may have attempted to murder, but she wasn't in her right mind! Can't you forgive that? Katsuki... he- oh, forget him- regardless, you knew them and you were their friend, and you still killed them without hesitation."

"I had to tie up the loose ends. I hadn't intended to risk his account," Fumikage stated cooly, but Yaomomo ignored him, words spilling out her mouth like a relentless waterfall, polluted with anger and grief.

"Did you ever truly understand your countless criminal victims either? No! Did you know their reasons for crime? Did you know what horrible pasts they may have had to lead them to such actions?! You're not justice. Whatever you are, I know one thing for sure. _You're a monster!"_

Fumikage's shoulders tensed. Everyone in the trial room was silent, stunned, their eyes fixed on the arguing students. Yaomomo panted, her anger spent, but she had obviously struck a nerve. A burst of satisfaction flowed through her veins.

But suddenly, he relaxed, the sharp edges of his gaze softening. He sighed. Yaomomo held her glare. "I understand how you feel, Yaomomo. Because I often ask myself the same. Am I really happy doing this, killing people based off of their criminal record, without truly knowing them? How many have I ripped apart and left for the police to find?"

Yaomomo refused to let him through, into her heart. She refused to believe his twisted words when he was the murderer of Kyouka and Katsuki, and dozens more of strangers. She refused to believe that he wasn't a cold-blooded killer, through and through.

He laughed, but it was a bitter, sorrowful sound. "I suppose, what I mean to say is... I'm sorry."

Yaomomo chuckled bitterly. "Sorry? Sorry doesn't bring back the dead, _Justice's Blade."_ She spat out the last words.

Fumikage stared at her, his crimson eyes unwavering. "I suppose you have a right to hate me. But what would you have done if Kyouka _had_ killed Mezou? Then she'd be the monster in your story, right? A, _oh,_ cold-blooded murderer of two, perhaps? She's quick and clever, I know that. She wouldn't have allowed Katsuki to live, either. So, please... have reason. Forgive me. Forgive me, Yaomomo."

Yaomomo couldn't speak. Emotion rolled through her again, conflicting and clashing painfully within her mind. _He speaks of reason, I know._

_I don't want to believe him, though..._

**_...because he's right..._**

"Hey hey hey! Are we done here? 'Cause it's time for the execution!" Monokuma interrupted.

"Exe...cution..?" Yaomomo heard Tsuyu murmur. She herself had gone numb again, choosing to force down the emotions rioting within her to spare herself the choice.

"Executed? Fumikage... no..." Mezou gazed at his friend, for once emotional and rendered speechless. Tears were spilling down his face.

"Remember what I told you before. Keep living, Mezou. Forget all of this and just keep living. Get out of this hell for me, alright?" Fumikage smiled at his friend before turning to Toga and Monokuma. He took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

"No... No... Fumikage, wait! Listen to me!" Tsuyu cried. He paused and turned to face her. _Is it just my twisted mind creating mirages, or is that a glimmer of sorrow in his eyes?_

"It's okay, Tsuyu. I deserve this," he said bitterly. "The world will never forgive me, and I'll go down in history as Justice's Blade, the heartless murderer."

"No! I... I forgive you!" Tsuyu choked out. Yaomomo stiffened.

"Oh? You do?" Fumikage's icy expression softened. "Then please... remember me... as your friend, Fumikage Tokoyami."

Monokuma laughed mockingly, obviously amused by the little display he just witnessed between the two students. Yaomomo suddenly felt something flip in her stomach as she met the bear's relentless stare. Something slipped through her numb mask, sliding through the cracks as she faced the raw reality before her.

_Fumikage is about to be executed. Executed for the murder of too many to count.... But also executed for protecting his friend, even if his life were the cost._

_What's to say I wouldn't have done the same?_

Monokuma laughed. "Upupupu! Now then, I've prepared a veeeery special punishment for Fumikage Tokoyami, the Ultimate Assassin! Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiit's PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

***

Fumikage was dragged away by Monokuma, who chained him and began taking him down one of the tunnels branching out of the trial room. Tsuyu jumped up and attempted to chase after them, only for Toga to leap down from the throne, knife in hand.

"Follow me, beloved pets!" Toga sang, skipping down a different tunnel. The class had no choice but to follow the insane girl.

She led them into a large room with a massive screen on the wall. Toga bounced up to the control panel, hit a few buttons, and it now displayed the scene of execution.

_>GAME OVER_

_Fumikage Tokoyami has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

Fumikage was standing in the center of a rock cavern. It was dim and rimmed with shadows, the only light source being the skylight high above, which revealed a bleak, white and gray sky. An endless expanse of steep rock walls bridged the distance between the cave and the rest of the world.

There was no escape. Only the concept of it flickered like a dying candle before Fumikage's eyes mockingly as he tipped his head up to gaze into the silver clouds overhead. His eyes were emotionless, blank canvases of red. _I wonder what he's thinking,_ Tsuyu thought, her heartbeat quickening in her throat.

The Assassin lowered his raven head and scanned his surroundings, calculating his chances, perhaps. Suddenly, from behind him, a slow, creaking laugh emerged.

"Upupupu... Upupupupu!"

Four robot Monokumas dressed as soldiers leaped out of the inky black shadows. Fumikage whirled around, producing three daggers and a syringe from his jacket pockets. The small silver blades were securely clipped between his fingers on his right hand, while the syringe was gripped in his left.

Fumikage darted to the side, avoiding Monokuma One's sword. He whirled and unflinchingly drove a dagger with deadly accuracy into the robot's red, mechanical eye. Monokuma One screamed, the sound sending Tsuyu's heart jolting against her ribs while her ears rung with anxious energy. It crumpled and collapsed on the ground, deactivated.

Having found the robots' weak spot, Fumikage took on Monokumas Two and Three at once. The two leapt at him while Monokuma Four approached from behind, surrounding him. However, the experienced Assassin was prepared. He ducked and dove under the leaping beasts, causing them to run right into Monokuma Four, whose inertia caused him to overrun.

While the three beasts were confused and distracted with figuring out who to bite, Fumikage leaped onto Monokuma Two's back and plunged his syringe deep into its eye. Monokuma Two made a terrible screeching noise and stiffened, collapsing.

Now Monokumas Three and Four were focused entirely on Fumikage. He threw one dagger with deadly accuracy, the silver flicker in the air giving way to a blade sunk several inches into Monokuma Three's eye. It screamed and collapsed, just like the first.

Now Fumikage was armed with a single dagger against the final Monokuma. _Isn't this a bit too easy?_ Tsuyu thought hopefully. _He'll win, he'll definitely win. And he'll be freed, or he'll come back to us, alive..._

But no, maybe that was too optimistic of a thought. One too happy and hope-filled for the villains to even consider being a possibility in their little game.

Monokuma Four parried Fumikage's dagger throw with its sword. It leaped at him. Fumikage attempted to dive under it to get behind it, but the beast's claws snagged on the collar of his jacket. The two of them tumbled into a pile of limbs, Monokuma having the Assassin pinned under its paws.

The creature bared its fangs and took a small syringe of bright green liquid out of some hidden compartment on it. It ripped away a section of Fumikage's sleeve and injected the liquid into his arm.

_"A life sustaining drug!"_ The real Monokuma's voice boomed over the speaker system of the execution cavern, the audio ending up static-filled in the recording of it being broadcasted to the class. _"It will remain in action for about five minutes, forcing the heart to beat and lungs to work, before it wears off and the body is left to its own defenses!"_

Tsuyu wondered why they'd give such a thing to Fumikage if they only intended to execute him.

She was about to find out.

_>Fumikage Tokoyami's Execution: Loki's Punishment : Executed!<_

The robot Monokuma dragged Fumikage into the center of the cavern, so that he was bathed in the white light of the skylight. It took out a black blade and sank it into Fumikage's stomach. He gritted his teeth, trying to stifle a hiss of pain.

The robot followed to slice the blade down in one swift motion, ripping through clothes. Pink blood blossomed from the wound, soaking Fumikage's clothes. Now he couldn't help but cry out in agony. The sound sent a jolt down Tsuyu's spine and made her heart leap into her throat. _No, no, no, please no... just end him instead of toying with him like prey!_

The Monokuma tore away Fumikage's shredded jacket and shirt, revealing the deep, blossoming, red ravine it'd created. The image sent a hot, vile tang to rise in Tsuyu's throat, and her hands began to shake.

The Monokuma pulled open the gash, ripping and parting the skin, flesh, and muscle like curtains, causing blood to flood out. Fumikage screamed, the unholy sound violently torn out of his mouth in one dark cry. His eyes were wild with pain and terror, glistening with tears that bubbled over his feathers. 

The gesture revealed all of his innards to the open air; shreds of muscle wracked by spasms, a stomach resembling a slime-slick balloon, a blood-streaked red liver, a glimpse of cages of ribs that framed his two bloody, balloon-like lungs patterned by pale bronchi lines. 

It seemed that it had carefully made the cut so that it was deep enough to draw blood but not deep enough to rupture any organs, as none of them were damaged beyond being covered in blood and mucus. The beast then began to delicately extract- _oh god. Oh god oh no why why why WHY WHY?!_

The Monokuma was removing Fumikage's intestines. Swiftly yet carefully, the creature began to extract the bloody, slimy, horrible pink worm-like organ from the Blackened's abdomen. It then began to slice them into neat lengths, causing clear, mucus-like fluid to spew out of them and pool over its paws, mixing with the blood like water with paint, creating a generally disgusting scene.

Fumikage was openly screaming now; horrible, agonized wails, sobs of pain and terror, of possibly regret and most certainly of sorrow. Oh, and pain. The pain in his voice was so raw, ripped from his throat and pleading for death to take him and ease him of his atrocious suffering, to no avail.

His voice clawed at Tsuyu's every being, tearing away at her heart and soul and mind. She could barely bear it. She wanted to look away and cover her ears and eyes, she really did, but she just couldn't. Her eyes remained glued on the screen, watching her dear friend die.

The Monokuma then began tying Fumikage's wrists and ankles to four rocks using the pieces of intestines it had just sliced, the organ slick against his blood-splattered wrists. It had placed him in a spread-eagle pose. Then, from the shadows, another entity emerged.

A snake.

A slim, agile, dark green snake. Its red eyes glimmered with hatred for the world it was born into, its scales shimmering in the bleak light. The reptile hissed and slithered to Fumikage before rearing up, rising and seeming to "stand up", before slipping up onto a stalactite that pointed directly at the Assassin's face.

The snake coiled around it so that its slim nose was in line with Fumikage's wide, pain-filled eyes.

_Oh no._

It opened its jaws, and its two long fangs emerged. White and gleaming, like ivory needles. The reptile flicked its upper jaw, tongue twirling within its mouth, and a translucent, green liquid dripped from its sharp white fangs.

The venom dripped down, droplets raining down upon Fumikage's eyes. He wailed in agony, poison sizzling across his skin, searing his face and eyeballs, revealing bloody, pink flesh and blood, oh, the blood. It flowed like a river, pooling, streaming, painting his feathers a rainbow of magenta hues.

It was terrible.

Tsuyu decided to count her own racing heartbeats instead, to count the seconds Fumikage was forced to endure and suffer.

_One, two, three, four._

Venom seared his eyes and face, burning away feathers and down.

_Five, six, seven, eight._

His screams continued, tearing away at Tsuyu's heartstrings.

_Nine, ten, eleven, twelve._

Blood was pooling in a sea around him, drowning him, turning his body into a work of gruesome, gutspill art.

_Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen._

His screams were growing weaker, his throat raspy.

_Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty._

He was still alive, but not for much longer.

...

He died after exactly fifty-eight seconds of suffering.

Fumikage was dead, framed in his own guts and blood, his eyes and face seared and gory with venom.

Tsuyu could only stare in horror at the screen, the camera frozen over the corpse, unable to comprehend the hellscape that she and her classmates were watching, the hellscape that they were all in.

_Fumikage..._

_You once told me to not drown myself in grief and remembering, for it'd drag me into despair._

_I swear I'll try to keep that in mind._

_For your sake, I'll keep fighting for everyone who has passed._

_Tenya, Rikidou, Ochako, Kouji, Mina, Hanta, Kyouka, Katsuki, and Fumikage..._

_I'll try to keep fighting for them._

_>Chapter 4: Justice Demands of JDs and tears : The End | Surviving Students : 14 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item obtained: Black Ivory Knife<_


	27. Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood - Part 1 - Daily Life

_How can one death change this school so much?_

Mashirao sat on the half-wall in the cafeteria, quietly sharing a double-strawed bubble tea between him and Hitoshi. His eyes scanned over the room, over the other people huddled around the tables. Denki was sitting next to Mashirao, his eyes blank as he stared at the floor. Mashirao had nothing to say to him; he didn't know _what_ to say. How was one supposed to speak to someone who just lost their girlfriend, and all of the hope that came with it?

At a table across the room, Yaomomo was sitting with her head in her arms, her gaze vacant. Tsuyu was sitting next to her. They were conversing in hushed tones, Yaomomo grieving over her best friend and her revelation over Fumikage.

The only spark in the room was Mei and Tooru. The two girls were sitting on a counter, side by side, talking in hushed tones as courtesy to the sad students. Apparently Mei had finished her device that would supposedly help them escape, and the two had made ice cream sundaes to celebrate the small achievement. It was a small step in the class' long term healing, but it was a step nonetheless.

Mashirao had noticed that Mezou and Eijirou had vanished over the past few days. He was pretty sure Mezou had retreated to the gym in solitude once more, and Eijirou probably locked himself in his room, after the loss of Katsuki. On the other hand, he'd also seen Shouto and Izuku coming down earlier to get food. They'd taken it promptly back to one of their rooms. Izuku's eyes had been dull and his feet unsteady- Mashirao wasn't sure why. However, he'd smiled, and his laughter rang like music.

_Even through sickness, he's happy... Shouto really has given him all the joy he's ever needed._

Suddenly, there was the loud ringing of a bell overhead. Mashirao glanced up at the monitor. _What do they want now..?_

Monokuma's face flashed onto the screen. He was wearing a nurse's cap, which was balanced elegantly atop his fuzzy head. "Ahem! This is a school announcement! Everybody, please go down to the auditorium ASAP! We'll be waiting.... Upupupu.... Upupupupupu!"

"The auditorium, huh?" Mashirao muttered. He shook the bubble tea bottle between him and his boyfriend. "Looks like there's just ice left, huh..."

"You can throw it out," Hitoshi offered. He hopped down from the half-wall and brushed himself off. "Come along now."

Mashirao hurried over to the trash can and threw out the empty bottle before meeting with Hitoshi, who was waiting by the door. Denki trailed after them with a fazed expression. The loose trio made their way down to the auditorium. Mezou was already there, huddling in a shadow. Neither party made any attempt to talk to each other.

Once the rest of the group arrived and assembled before the stage, a small black and white rodent bounced up from behind the podium. "Heeeeeee-llo everyone!" he crowed.

"Cut to the chase," Mezou said coldly. He had not joined the majority group, instead opting to stay to the wall.

"Aww, so rude!" Monokuma pouted. "Ah, well... anyway, it's time for a new motive!"

"Motive?" Mei asked softly. "Another one, so soon after Kyouka, Katsuki, and Fumikage..?"

"Why does it matter anyway?" Yaomomo asked, her voice monotonous. Tsuyu was at her shoulder, her eyes troubled and heavy as she gazed up at her friend.

"Why does it _matter?!"_ Eijirou wailed. "Katsuki was just killed! Your best friend was murdered too, and Fumikage! How could you act so indifferent?"

Yaomomo was silent, her silver eyes glazed over as she stared back into Eijirou's teary crimson gaze. Tsuyu shook her head at the Bodybuilder. "Leave her alone for now, please," she said.

"Ahem! I'm right here! Listen up!" Monokuma barked. Everyone's chatter died down, their attention immediately fixated on the rodent. "The new motive is.... Despair Sickness!" He spoke the phrase with relish, as if it were the best thing in the world.

"Despair... Sickness?" Mirio echoed, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see if you don't act soon!" Monokuma grinned his shark-toothed grin. "In two days, I will inflict one random student with Despair Sickness! For every day after that where no murder occurs, I will inflict another student with the maladie, until everybody is infected. If a murder occurs, I will immediately cure every student of all illness, and everyone will be in tip-top shape again!" He grinned. "My own Monokuma antidote! I'm so clever, aren't I?!"

"And what if nobody kills at all?" Mezou inquired?

"Well, if it really does get to that point, I'll just execute someone random to keep the ball going! Upupupu... puhuhu! See ya later!" With that ominous laugh, Monokuma vanished, leaping down from his podium, casting the auditorium into shocked, confused silence.

"I don't get it," Nejire muttered, breaking the silence. "What is the Sickness, exactly? How does it work? Like, symptoms and fatality rate."

"We won't know until it happens. That's what Monokuma wants," Shouto said. "We don't know what the Sickness will do, which may drive us to murder out of the anxiety of the illness being fatal.

"However, this part of the motive is rather useless. We can assume he won't kill any of us with an illness, since it wouldn't cause despair -which he wants- and isn't gory and brutal -which he and the villains enjoy. Since we're at their disposal, they wouldn't let us go without blood being drawn," Shouto concluded.

"So there's no need to worry?" Tooru asked hesitantly.

"No, we shouldn't have to worry about the sickness. It'll be fine, I'm sure," Izuku piped up. Mashirao noticed how he had his arm looped around Shouto's and how he was leaning on the taller Theorist, putting half of his weight on him. I wonder what's going on over there.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," Mashirao reaffirmed, echoing Izuku. "We'll be alright."

_Until the Sickness falls... we'll be okay._

_I hope._

***

"HELP! EVERYBODY, GET UP! SOMETHING HAPPENED! HEEEEEELLLLP!"

Nejire awoke with a start at the sound of somebody screaming outside her door. Clearly, she would've preferred an alarm clock to... whatever happened that was violent enough for Mei to run up and down the dorms yelling at the top of her lungs.

She tumbled out of bed, slipped into her bath slippers -which she'd resorted to wearing in favor of the glittery high heels, since they were making her feet hurt-, and rushed for the door. As she stepped into the hallway, she could see that Mei's efforts in waking up the entire class was paying off. Mirio, Mashirao, Tooru, Shouto, Tsuyu, Hitoshi, and Tamaki were already up and trying to calm down the Inventor, who was practically going off-the-rails insane in her hysterics.

"Mei- Mei, calm down- Just, um, take a deep breath-" Tooru was desperately trying to console her writhing friend, but to no avail.

"MY BABY! MY BEAUTIFUL BABY! SHE'S GONE!" Mei sobbed.

"Baby?" Hitoshi asked aloud, visibly confused and stunned.

"She means her machine," Mashirao quickly explained. "The device that she was making for our escape."

"Well, if it's broken, let's go see it!" Mirio insisted.

The group rushed down the stairs, with Mei leading the way. They all entered the Lab. Just as she had reported, there was a heap of broken pieces of metal, circuits, wires, and shattered glass screens all over the large work table in the center of the room.

Mei sobbed again. "My baby! I'd just finished it, and now it's broken! Somebody broke it!"

"Somebody broke it?" Tooru asked aloud. "Oh, Mei, I don't believe anybody here would do that! Who wouldn't want to escape? Your device was gonna help us get out, so it makes no sense for one of us to break it."

"Th-Then Monokuma did it! Or some other villain!" Mei insisted. "Somebody broke it, I know! It wouldn't just fall apart _and_ blow up like this on its own, I know it! _My_ babies don't do that!"

"Hey hey! But I didn't do anything!" Monokuma suddenly ran through the door, waving his arms.

"Yeah, like we're going to believe that," Mei snapped at him. "You or one of the villains must've broken it! Who else would?!"

"Puhuhu... one of your fellow students, perhaps?" Monokuma grinned maliciously, his robotic eye glinting in the light of the pale ceiling lights.

"We've already ruled that possibility out!" Tooru retorted. "Nobody has any reason to!"

"Hmm... suit yourself. But beware... just know that the villains and I never interfere with the killing game directly, other than our motives. Your device is not of our concern, miss Inventor. Upupupu!" With an ominous laugh, Monokuma ran away.

Mei huddled over the broken remains of her machine, wailing. Tooru rushed to comfort her while the others pondered what Monokuma's words could've meant.

"Monokuma said that the device was not of his concern... what is that supposed to mean?" Shouto mused.

"It must mean the device wouldn't have posed a threat to the... the game. So it wouldn't have been any help in a hypothetical escape," Tamaki concluded. He turned to the devastated Inventor. "Mei. What was your device designed to do?"

"It... It was designed to-" Mei began to speak, but was suddenly, rudely interrupted.

"Hey, hey! Don't be giving these dumbnuts any bright ideas, squid girl!" Monokuma yelped in alarm, running into the room again. "Say a word, and I'll- I'll have you executed, just like your buddy Tenya, okay?!" He vanished again with that parting threat.

"That was... strange," Hitoshi said slowly.

"What he just said was blatantly contradictory," Mashirao muttered. "First, Monokuma says he doesn't care about the device. If he truly cares that little, why would he be so desperate to keep how the device works a secret?"

"Maybe how it works or what it was supposed to do was a vital escape clue... but the actual machine wasn't actually working properly?" Nejire suggested. "No offense to Mei, but her machines sometimes... malfunction," she said slowly.

"Perhaps that's it," Tsuyu stated, before Mei interrupted.

"Nooo! I was sure they worked! I even had a test run and it worked perfectly!" Mei claimed loudly, her voice making Nejire's ears ring, which was unusual, considering how loud she herself was.

"If the device was to help us escape, is there any possibility the test run may aid us?" Shouto asked.

"Possibly. There's a chance it might, but consecutive use would've been more effective," Mei said glumly.

A murmur spread through the group. "I guess that's another escape plan gone to dust," Tsuyu murmured sadly, shuffling away. People slowly began trickling out after her upon giving their consolation to Mei, who was still being soothed by Tooru at the table.

Nejire left last after giving Mei a hug. "It'll be okay," she murmured subduedly. "Now that you know how to make the device, you can remake it, right?"

"Yeah," Mei muttered. "I'll... I'll try my best! I'll even sleep with the device in this lab this time!"

Nejire paused, but opted not to speak. _I feel as if that would only put you in danger._ If someone was truly out to ruin their escape, for whatever wicked reason, she was sure they wouldn't hesitate to kill.

"Well... good luck," was all she said instead.


	28. Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood - Part 2 - Daily Life

The next morning, Shouto awoke to someone desperately rapping on the door. Instantly on edge, he roused, carefully slipping out of Izuku's loose arms and tucking the blankets around him tighter.

After the commotion the previous sunrise, he wasn't all that eager about another situation arising. Approaching the door, he glanced back at the jadette's sleeping form, wondering what would happen if this person awakening him were a killer, or somebody dangerous, before warily calling, "Who's there?" to the person beyond the door.

"Shouto, thank god you're there- It's Mirio- there's something wrong with Tsuyu! Come quick!" The Ultimate Hope's voice was panicked, and his words were coming out much too fast.

"Alright. I'll be right with you," Shouto replied steadily. He quickly strode over to the desk and scribbled a note for Izuku on the notepad. _"Mirio called me. Something's wrong with Tsuyu. Be back soon. Don't worry. -Shouto."_ The Theorist quickly left his room after that, nearly running into the taller blonde in the process. "What happened?" he asked, shutting the door as softly but swiftly as he could as to not wake up Izuku.

"Tsuyu... she attacked Mezou... said she wanted his strength... real weird... come on, I think they're still going at it in the cafeteria!" Mirio explained breathlessly before dashing off again. "Come on!" Shouto hastened to chase after him.

When the two finally reached the third floor, Shouto could instantly hear screaming and the crashing noises that signaled a fight. Over the ruckus, he suddenly heard one feminine voice stand out in particular.

"I want it... I want your power, your strength! I want it all!"

_Tsuyu,_ Shouto realized. Her voice was so angry, so loud, and so harsh that he couldn't even recognize it for a few seconds as he picked up speed, anxious to see what had happened and what damage this newly-crazed version of the girl had done. Mirio and Shouto dashed into the cafeteria. In the center of the room, with tables and chairs knocked over around them, were Tsuyu and Mezou, still duking it out.

Tsuyu leaped at Mezou, kicking at him and blocking his hits with swift and agile motions. Mezou was keeping perfect pace with her, blocking and punching. Tsuyu appeared to be on the losing side, though, as her chest was heaving with exhaustion. _Her constant screams of nonsense and power aren't exactly helping her keep a steady breathing rate,_ Shouto noted. Her clothes were battered, the ribbon in her hair askew and loose. On the other hand, Mezou appeared to be unscathed by the frog girl's unprovoked attack.

Around them, at the edges of the cafeteria, several people hovered to watch. Denki, Tooru, Mashirao, Hitoshi, Tamaki, and Nejire were spread out along the wall, observing the fight anxiously but too fearful to jump in, since the risk of getting hurt between the two hostile fighters was extremely high. They didn't even have a certified nurse among their ranks, so a broken bone or bad scratch could turn deadly in days.

"H-Hey! Knock it out, you two!" Mirio and Shouto leaped into the fray, Shouto easily restraining Tsuyu -considering their large height difference- while Mirio grabbed Mezou, hauling the two apart.

"What's gotten into you?" Shouto yelled at Tsuyu. The frog girl turned her head, and he suddenly found himself staring into a pair of cloudy, glaring green eyes.

_Swirling green eyes... filled with despair._

As Shouto moved to secure a stronger grip on her, pinning her arms, he realized that the girl's skin was extremely warm; uncomfortably so, even. When he rose one hand to test her forehead, he realized that it was burning with fever. "She's sick," he spoke up. "She's not in her right mind."

"Thhhaaaaaat's right!" Monokuma suddenly jumped into the cafeteria, wearing a stethoscope around his neck and a nurse's cap. "This is the Despair Sickness!"

"This... this is the Sickness you mentioned as your motive?" A confused-looking Hitoshi spoke up from one side of the cafeteria. "How is that supposed to work?"

"That's exactly right!" Monokuma ignored the violette's second question. "It's a specially engineered illness designed by yours truly! For every day until there is another murder, another one of you will be -at random- inflicted by the illness! It is not contagious, and each case is different!" Monokuma grinned, flashing his pearly teeth. "Symptoms will vary, but they will all alter a person's personality to some degree! And because I'm a kind bear, I'll tell you a bit about them!

"Tsuyu here's case involves the symptoms lust, greed, and envy!" Monokuma paused to grin. "I'm clever, aren't I? I gave her symptoms from the Seven Deadly Sins!"

"It just proves you're incredibly uncreative," Hitoshi muttered, but the robot ignored him.

"Anyway, have fun dealing with her! Toodles!" Monokuma ran off again, and Shouto vaguely wondered why the bear had even bothered to bring the nurse's equipment.

"Um... what should we do with her?" Mashirao asked slowly. Shouto was starting to have trouble keeping Tsuyu down, so Mirio came over to help pin her arms. Mezou had already left in solitude, standing and watching by the door with a cold expression. He regarded Tsuyu with a particular icy glare; it was obvious that he was tired of being the target of hostile female classmates.

"We should keep her in solitude with someone she won't attack, to prevent her from going insane in her head," Tooru suggested, her voice small and wary.

"That's a good idea. Let's take her back to her room, then," Hitoshi said. "Who should we keep with her?"

"Nejire, maybe? She's her friend," Denki suggested shakily, his voice small.

"She may get envious of Nejire's beauty. I mean, she is the Ultimate Beauty Pageant Star, so that would be a problem," Hitoshi said.

"How about Mirio?" Nejire herself suggested. "Both of them tried to stir up hope in this group, so they're equal. Mirio even lost his quirk before the rest of us, so Tsuyu may see herself as superior."

"But Mirio's also strong," Tamaki pointed out. "Like Mezou... and you saw how that went. And... I don't know how Tsuyu's lust symptom would come into play if she's alone with a guy..."

"As far as I see, I'm pretty sure her 'lust' refers to her lust for others' power," Shouto spoke up. "Like how she wanted Mezou's strength. It's a powerlust, not sexual or romantic lust."

"What about Yaomomo?" Hitoshi suggested. "She's... tame. And her wealth has been put out of play by the game."

"But her title suggests it," Tooru interjected. "I think the best candidates are me, Tamaki, Denki, and Hitoshi."

"You should go, then," Denki spoke up quickly. "I mean... you two are kind of equal in power and stuff..."

After a bit of discussion and assigning Tooru the role, the two girls were locked in Tsuyu's room.

"We'll figure this all out," Mirio assured Shouto as the Theorist headed back to his room to find Izuku. "There won't be any killing. Once the villains realize the illness isn't doing much, they'll remove it."

Shouto nodded in agreement, but in his heart, he was hesitant. _Would the villains really give up that easily? Look at what lengths Monokuma has gone to before for motives, imprisoning our families and such... it's unlikely they'd give it up that quickly._

_I wonder what's going to happen..._

~~~

Over the next few days, more people fell ill, as Monokuma promised.

The next was Tamaki. Nejire had arrived late to breakfast that morning to fetch a tray of food.

"Tamaki's sick," she explained while picking up bagels. "The Despair Sickness."

"What are his symptoms?" Shouto asked, curious.

"Uh- he's very anxious and distressed- Mirio's with him right now, but I gotta run," Nejire said quickly. "We're going to stay with him in his room. You guys, remember to deliver food to Tsu!" With that, she ran off as quickly as she'd come with a basket of fruit and baked goods.

~~~

Mei was next.

"Hey, Mei, are you sure you're gonna be able to eat all that?" Tooru asked the pinkette as she sat down. The Artist had swapped places with Hitoshi for the day to give her a break. "Besides, why did you come down to the cafeteria anyway? I thought you said you were gonna stay in your lab..."

"Nah. Got tired. Hungry." Mei immediately began scarfing down the massive plate of food

"H-Hey! What's up with you-? Stop eating so quickly, you'll get yourself sick!" Tooru attempted to stop Mei by grabbing her by the shoulders. She immediately winced back as soon as their skin met.

"What? What's wrong?" Shouto asked in concern.

"Mei... she's burning up!" Tooru wailed. Mei was oblivious to the ravenette's anxiety as she continued to devour her breakfast.

"It's the Despair Sickness," Mashirao commented from across the table. Shouto felt his stomach drop.

"We're going to have to isolate her," he said. "Um... Eijirou! You can accompany her."

"Why me?" the redhead asked softly, his eyes glazed over.

"Because-" Shouto stopped himself short. Eijirou was still in a state of grief over Katsuki. It probably wasn't a smart idea to put him in charge of another human being when he wasn't even capable of really taking care of himself. "Never mind. Mashirao, you take care of her. Make sure she doesn't overeat and get herself sick."

~~~

The next to grow ill was Izuku, much to Shouto's dismay.

The already sickly boy was instilled with wrath. Shouto decided to stay in his own room with his significant other, which proved to be a mistake.

"Hey, Izuku, what are you doing?" He reprimanded the shorter jadette, who was ripping apart a pillow. The ill boy turned, his eyes set in a dead glare, before he leaped at Shouto, who was promptly caught off guard and brought to the floor.

Shouto huffed, expecting it to be easy to push off Izuku. He'd been awfully weak before the Despair Sickness had taken him, so it was a surprise when he found himself unable to pry him off with minimal force. Left with no other option, Shouto twisted and kicked him off, sending Izuku tumbling to the floor next to him.

"Ah- are you oka-" Shouto hadn't even gotten back to his feet when Izuku jumped him again with a savage snarl that resembled an animal more than a human. Shouto dodged this time, sending Izuku diving into the floor. He scrambled for the door, racing out and hastily shutting it before he freed the apparent beast now living in his dorm. He swiftly locked it from the outside, since his and Izuku's keys were both in his pocket.

That night, he fell asleep in Izuku's bed, worried about how much longer the boy's physical body would be able to handle the Sickness.

He barely recognized the creature in his room now.

~~~

Yaomomo became sick the day after that.

"Yaomomo, what's gotten into you?!" A horrified Hitoshi was pinned to the wall under the ill Affluent Progeny, who had unbuttoned the top of her blouse and was rubbing against him like a cat. Mashirao rushed over at that moment to fight her off, kicking her away. She tumbled to the ground and began to advance forwards again in a crawl.

"It's today's Despair Sickness victim," Shouto said sadly, watching the formerly elegant, refined hero he'd come to know reduced to a less bloody rendition of Toga.

"We better lock her up," Mashirao insisted, standing protectively in front of Hitoshi, who'd since risen and was eyeing Yaomomo suspiciously. "Who should we put as her guard?"

"Someone tame, clearly," Nejire said. She was in the cafeteria, happening to see the commotion while grabbing food for Tamaki again. "Umm... what about Denki?"

Shouto considered her choice. While Denki was still grieving over Kyouka, Yaomomo was -had been- too. Perhaps he'd be able to handle her company, even if she was a bit wonky in the head.

"Denki, do you think you can do it?" He turned to the electric blonde.

"Um... I'll try," Denki said slowly, eyeing Yaomomo nervously.

~~~

It didn't work out at all.

"She... she attacked me..." Denki was shaking when he told the assembled group what had happened. "You know... Um..."

"Okay, it's alright. Sorry, Denki. I should've remembered her symptom was lust," Shouto said apologetically to the poor Electrician.

"So we can't give her a male guard. So far, she's only tried to assault two people, Hitoshi and Denki. They're both guys, so what if we gave her a female guard?" Mashirao suggested.

"It's worth a shot, but there are no girls left who aren't sick or already guarding someone," Hitoshi pointed out.

"Then let's switch out Nejire or Tooru," Mirio spoke up. He was off guard duty and attended the meeting.

"How about Nejire? I mean, Tamaki also has you," Shouto asked.

"Sure. I'll go get her right now." The blonde was already halfway out the door.

~~~

The change of gender in guard did not deter her at all. Nejire escaped the ill girl with the same traumatized story as Denki, so the class decided to leave Yaomomo alone instead.

~~~

The next day, Mashirao succumbed to the Sickness.

Shouto didn't even see the tailed teen in person; he just woke up and went outside when he ran into Denki, who informed him that Mashirao had fallen ill and he was taking over as Mei's guard.

Apparently Mashirao's symptom was pride, and he had been chattering since he entered the cafeteria, delirious, rambling on and on about himself and how great he was and how everyone else was terrible in comparison. Hitoshi was Mashirao's guard, which made sense, but Shouto wondered if even the Psychic would be able to take the noise, come tomorrow.

~~~

That night, as Shouto collapsed in Izuku's bed, he couldn't help but wonder.

_How much longer can we go on like this?_


	29. Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood - Part 3 - Deadly Life

Yaomomo awoke alone in her dimly lit room to the muffled sound of a clicking noise. She sighed, sitting up. _Why do I feel so groggy and disgusting..?_

She slid off of the plush mattress of her canopy bed, sliding her bare feet into a pair of slippers. She looked around. _My room's an absolute mess... What exactly happened here again?_ Upon changing into her spare outfit, she found herself standing over her vanity, still trying to recall what happened, when it suddenly hit her.

_I'm not sick anymore._

But for some reason, with her mind still foggy with the aftereffects, she couldn't connect that with any solid facts.

Suddenly, there was a rapid series of soft knocks on her door. She picked herself up and strode across her room, opening it to reveal Denki huddled behind it.

"Yaomomo- o-of course, you're well again- um, there's been a- a death," he said, his voice downcast and stricken with grief. For a moment, she just stared blankly at him, her eyes wide. Then she seemed to wilt, her posture slumping, eyes downcast and clouded.

"Another death..?" she muttered, half to herself, her dull silver eyes unshifting as she gazed at the floor while Denki watched on, misty-eyed and slightly offput by her behavior. "Why... does this keep happening?"

_Why does it even matter anymore? Why does this game have to keep taking our friends' lives?_

_Why does it transform everyone into monsters and murderers?_

"Um.. Y-Yaomomo..?" Denki broke into her thoughts with his shaky voice. "Do you want to... see the body?"

_The body... Another human being, who had been alive and speaking just yesterday, reduced to an empty corpse, never to smile or walk or speak again._

_Why should I want to know who it was? Why... why must this go on?_

"Okay," was her simple response.

Denki led her outside, down the hallway of the dorms.

_A body, hanging from the ceiling by its neck, wires sparkling and coiled around its neck._

_A canvas of weeping puncture wounds in its stomach, blood flowing from the magenta holes in a heavy stream of fluid, dripping to the floor._

_An empty hole where its left eye once was, a dark pit that sagged at the edges and revealed a mess of torn tissue and bleeding veins, nerves that have been ruptured and leaking liquids. An empty hole crying a river of blood that flowed over its face and down its chin, staining the skin magenta._

_An eyeball endorning a vermillion colored iris, covered with blood and mucus, obviously torn out in cold blood and left to rot, speared through with a knife, a knife that lay on the floor below, ringed with blood._

_A hanging corpse, horribly damaged and devoid of life..._

_A corpse who was once a human being, a living entity with feelings and thoughts._

_A person, who went by the name of Eijirou Kirishima._

"Wh-what..?" Yaomomo stared at the body in horror. The three members of the Big Three -Mirio, Tamaki, and Nejire- as well as Tsuyu were all huddled below the corpse. Yaomomo noted that the Despair Sickness had, in fact, been cured overnight with the death, since Tamaki, Tsuyu, and herself were all healthy again.

"Another death," Mirio said grimly. "Denki, I'll go get the others, unless you want to..?"

"No, it's fine. I'll... stay by the... body..." Denki's voice trailed off as he stared at the corpse of someone who had once been his friend.

Yaomomo, Denki, and Nejire stood with the body. Tamaki had opted to follow Mirio, silent but clearly unable to take looking at his dead friend's body, and Tsuyu went to fetch the students on the other floor. This left them behind to keep watch. In no time, the entire class had gathered.

"Ei-Eijirou?!" Izuku screamed.

"How cruel... poor Eijirou..." Tooru whimpered, staring wide-eyed up at him.

"I hope he's happy with Katsuki and Mina now," Mashirao murmured. "Maybe they'll all make up in the afterlife."

_Does an afterlife even exist?_

_Would there really be such a happy ending, after this hellscape?_

_Maybe it's better not to look at all, not to care. _

_Then it wouldn't be so bad, right?_

"Who knows? Upupu!" Monokuma suddenly appeared, tablet at hand -at paw?- and laughing. The class jumped in surprise.

"It looks like my Sickness worked! How wonderful!" He grinned, flashing his pearly whites.

"Your Sickness _worked?!_ How insensitive is that?!" Nejire sobbed.

"Sensitivity isn't exactly my strong spot, if you can't tell," Monokuma laughed. "And now that your dear Fumikage has gone and passed, somebody's gotta do your autopsy, and it ain't gonna be me! Have fun kids! Upupupu..!"

Monokuma threw the tablet at the nearest person -Tamaki- who hastily managed to catch it, his eyes widening as he eyed the File nervously. _The file on his dead work partner... he's probably upset._

"I'll take it," Mirio said, taking the tablet from him. "I guess... we're going to have another trial. It's time to investigate."

_>Investigation : Start!<_

"What Monokuma said was kinda true," Tooru said slowly. "We need a body inspector, and someone who knows how to do it."

_Body inspector... toy with the corpse a little, poke around and figure out what happened. I think I could manage that..._

"I'll do it," Yaomomo spoke up. "I think I can."

"You? Are you sure about that, Yaomomo?" Shouto side-eyed her.

_Oh. Of course. He's remembering how I reacted to Kyouka's body._

_Well, that's in the past. I was weaker then. Weak, and foolish._

"It doesn't really matter. I'll do it, since nobody else wants to." She looked up and glanced around to see if anybody was going to contradict her second statement. Of course, nobody did. They were staring at her like she was crazy for taking such a job.

"Come on, then. We're wasting investigation time," Mezou cut in sharply. Yaomomo was genuinely surprised he'd actually shown up.

_Maybe he's given up too. Decided to follow the rules._

"Let's get to work," Mirio said. "First, we have to get the body down. Then, Yaomomo can take the body. The rest of us can split up to cover the area around it."

_Why does this all matter so much anyway? Just to live... won't we all die sometime anyway? Killed for our sins, whether by God or by Justice? Why work so hard, when so many have already perished?_

"Come on, Yaomomo. Izuku and I can help you with the body," Shouto said, instantly snapping Yaomomo out of her haze. She blinked, gazing into his mismatched eyes for a second before looking away, opting to stare at Eijirou's hanging feet instead.

In that moment, she felt something bitter rise in her, seeing Izuku at Shouto's side. It reminded her that she, no matter what she did, would never amount to anything compared to him.

It reminded her of how insignificant she was, of how all of them were.

_So why should it matter?_

_Why do I still care..?_

"Okay." Yaomomo shoved her emotions aside and stepped towards the body. "We're going to have to get it down, but I also want to see the way the wire is looped, up there. I need a stepladder."

"There might be one in the closet," Mirio suggested. "I'll go get it."

Izuku, Shouto, and Yaomomo hovered awkwardly around the body while Mirio and Tamaki went to fetch the stepladder. They came back carrying it.

Yaomomo gratefully took it and stepped up, inspecting the coil around Eijirou's neck. It was a bundle of wires, some broken and sparkling. The ceiling tile that would've concealed the wires had been removed. It looked like someone had taken off the tile and loosened the lines, so that they could be used as a hasty alternative to a rope or cord.

"We can take the body down now," She called down. At her prompting, Mirio and Shouto worked to help her bring the body down, delicately lowering him to the floor.

Yaomomo stepped down from the stepladder and put it to the side. She stared down into Eijirou's bloody, blank face for a moment. To think he had been alive and breathing just yesterday... no, she didn't even want to think about it.

She sighed and crouched down, staring at the multitude of wounds in the body's abdomen. _Where to start..?_

_What did Fumikage always do?_

She began inspecting the stab wounds in Eijirou's abdomen first. With no other option to see them more clearly, she looked around in need of a sharp object. _I need to slash the clothes..._

"Shouto, do you have a knife, or scissors?" She asked, turning to the slightly taller male. His eyes widened, as if he were surprised. _Surprised that I could do my job exactly like Fumikage, who had been indifferent and tactical?_

_How silly... of course I can..._

_After all, what else can I do?_

Shouto shook his head. "No, but I can go get some. Come on, Izuku." The two strode off in search of the item Yaomomo had requested. She noticed that Izuku seemed to have a bit more energy and strength in his steps compared to before.

She turned back to her work and decided to take the time to continue investigating Eijirou's corpse instead. Namely, the eyeball impaled on the bloody knife by his hand. It'd been under his corpse previously.

She picked it up and turned it over in her fingers and looked back to Eijirou's hand. It was limp and splattered with blood, the splashes shaped like poisoned raindrops and pointing down his fingers. _Dead._

The eyeball on the knife was misshapen and bloody, the broken veins and nerves still attached to it. The back of it was red and dripping, dented and squished, as if someone had toyed and tussled with it. _How odd._ She set the item down on the floor, exactly how she'd found it. She needed the blade she'd sent Shouto for to cut away his clothes, so it was impossible for her to inspect the wounds as of the moment.

Circling around the corpse, however, Yaomomo could see the damage on his body. There was a heavy bloodstain on his front- clearly, he'd been stabbed violently in the abdomen, considering the amount of blood drawn. There was also a stab in the back that was bleeding less heavily. A gash on his arm ripped his blood-splattered clothes.

As she circled back, around the corpse, she noticed something sticking out of Eijirou's pocket. It looked like a crumpled piece of paper. She kneeled down and tugged at it, removing it from the pocket.

"A... map?"

The sheet bore a very sketchy version of what looked like a map, written in pencil and smudged from the creases in the paper. For a moment, it was all just a mess of lines to her. She stared at it, wondering what it could ever mean.

Then she realized.

_It's a map... she thought, turning the paper over. ...of the vents._

The crisscrossing lines, the many labels in letters and numbers, the symbol key in the bottom left corner; a blacked out rectangle meant a vent cover. The whole thing was a three-dimensional side view of layers of vent systems, stacked like a tower. It showed clear routes for all the rooms, too; an extra section on the right of the paper showed the fifth and sixth floors in higher intricacy, due to the number of classrooms and more dense vents.

Yaomomo was just folding the map, ready to store it for the trial, when someone approached her from behind.

"Hey, Yaomomo? Could you spare a moment?" She jumped, bouncing into a squat so her feet were both flat and stable on the ground. She swiftly tucked the map under her belt and turned her head, looking up to meet Mirio's blue eyes. Tamaki was still at his side. Nejire had clearly branched off to help out elsewhere.

"U-Umm... sorry for scaring you..." Tamaki muttered, eyes averted to the side.

"It's fine. What is it?" Yaomomo stood up, wiping off her hands on her skirt.

"The Monokuma File," Mirio cut in. "You're the body investigator; you should see it!" He handed the black and white tablet to her.

Yaomomo took the tablet and clicked it on, scanning over its contents.

_>Case V_

_Victim: Eijirou Kirishima_

_All Wounds: There are multiple stab wounds in his abdomen. His left eye is ripped out. There are light burns on his neck. Furthermore, there is a gash on his arm and a single stab wound in his back._

_When: ~0:50<_

"So it doesn't give the fatal wound, or weapon," Yaomomo muttered under her breath. "But it gives the time. Here." She handed it back to Mirio, storing the facts in her brain for later. "I'm done with it."

Mirio gave her a warm smile. "You'd be a great detective, you know? Our own personal Ultimate Detective."

"Please," she huffed, her voice devoid of energy. "I'm just an Affluent Progeny. I only took up Hanta's job because we needed someone to after he died, and Monokuma sort of gave me the role anyway."

"You're a great detective, really," Tamaki said softly. "You've solved two cases for us already..."

"It's nothing," Yaomomo murmured.

Tamaki eyed her again, as if wanting to say something else, when a certain someone came running back and cut him off.

"Hey, Yaomomo! I got you scissors." Shouto called at that moment, and all eyes turned to him. Izuku was still at his side.

"Thanks." She took the twin blades gratefully before leaning back down and carefully cutting apart Eijirou's shirt. She ripped back the cloth to reveal the gaping, weeping wounds underneath.

She heard Tamaki take a sharp intake of breath behind her and Izuku gasp. In the corner of her eye, she saw him turn away and shut his eyes. "That's... those wounds are deep," Shouto commented, clearly unnerved by how Fumikage-like Yaomomo was handling the body.

_Why does everyone have to act so surprised?! I mean, it's not that hard, is it?_

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Yaomomo asked softly, gray eyes vacant, as she began to inspect the depth of the wounds, poking into it with her finger to test it. This caused blood to bubble up and soak her skin, but she didn't seem to mind.

"W-Well, you're literally sticking your finger into a dead body! How do you want us to react?!" Izuku wailed.

"It's sort of easy, if you consider it for a moment," Yaomomo stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Just don't think emotionally. Look at it from a different lens. In the future, when this is all over, it won't matter. None of it will matter at all. Eijirou won't matter, and neither will Kyouka, and Fumikage, and Katsuki, and Hanta, and Ochako, and all of those who have been wiped from the face of this planet already."

"That's so- so-"

"So cruel?" she asked. "What part of this game isn't? We can't do anything about it. We can only live in it."

Silence followed, the squishing of her fingers in the wound being the only sound.

"Anyway, these wounds are deep. They likely punctured vital organs," she said, pulling her hand back. Her finger was soaked to the knuckle in blood, dripping with mucus and dashed with an odd, fleshy substance. Behind her, Izuku involuntarily gagged.

"We should investigate around the body now," Shouto suggested, keeping his cool. "I'm going to investigate the stairs. I noticed something starkly unnatural earlier, coming downstairs. Come on, Izuku."

He and his boyfriend started walking away when he suddenly turned again and called, "Hey, Yaomomo! I'll give you my account later. I think it'll be useful."

"Okay," Yaomomo called half-heartedly. She had already began looking around, absorbed in her work.

The carpet directly below the body was bloodstained, which seemed natural considering the body itself was dripping blood, the fluid having created a stain trailing down Eijirou's leg. However, Yaomomo still felt like there was way too much blood on the floor if the corpse had only dripped from hanging. She decided to keep it in the back of her head as she continued circling around.

She swiftly noticed that the carpet in front of the 1-A classroom's door -which was near the body- was matted with a small amount of blood. Intrigued, she entered the room. Standing inside the small triangular space, lit by the single yellow lamp on the ceiling, she quickly realized what was irking her.

_The cabinet._

There was a small square cabinet in the corner of every dormitory common space. That was common knowledge. However, the one in this room looked... off.

_It's backwards._ Yaomomo suddenly realized, her eyes widening, that the cabinet was facing the wrong way. Normally, the drawers, with their tiny brass knobs, would be facing the entry doorway from the hall. Now, it was facing Eijirou's door.

_Right. These are Eijirou and Katsuki's dorms..._ Yaomomo stepped up to the Bodybuilder's dorm door and brushed her fingers over the brass nameplate. Her fingers left a streak on the metal, which swiftly faded.

She sighed and turned on her heel, exiting the common area. Next to the 1-A dorm was a supply closet. _If the killer wanted to spread out the evidence, they might put it in two different rooms next to each other... since it'd be too risky for them to take it to another area entirely._

As she approached the closet, however, another object on the floor, one that shone with a silver sheen, caught her eyes. "A paperclip?" she murmured to herself, bending down and picking it up. It was a paperclip, an everyday little metal thing. It was completely bent out. _I'll keep it in mind._

She dropped the item and opened the closet door, allowing light to spill into the small, dusty space. And just as she expected, there was something laying on the floor, on top of some cardboard boxes. She carefully picked it up to examine it.

_The ceiling tile,_ she realized as she turned it over. There was no blood on it, but that was to be expected, since removing a tile over the corpse without dropping it would keep it clean. _Again, it probably doesn't mean anything new, but I'll keep it in mind..._

Yaomomo left the door open and laid the tile back where she found it. She stepped into the hall and turned to the stairs. As soon as she saw her, Nejire looked up from her work over a large potted plant by the landing and called her over.

"Yaomomo! I found something!" She approached the bluette. She was hovering anxiously over something in the pot. She'd obviously upturned a lot of the soil, since there was dirt on her hands and under her fingernails.

Lying in the pot was a knife. There was sticky blood that covered the silver blade nearly to the hilt. Small clumps of soil coated the long-dry liquid like flies to a rotten body. _Looks like a kitchen knife,_ Yaomomo noted. She lifted it up gingerly by the handle.

"I found it buried in the plant," Nejire said. "I thought the dirt looked a little messy and upturned, so I dug it up."

"Alright. Thanks, Nejire." Yaomomo placed the knife back in the pot. _Everyone cares so much that even the Ultimate Beauty Pageant Star would dirty their hands just to find a piece of evidence that wouldn't even matter in a week, wouldn't matter when you're dead, would mean nothing to the dozen of dead among our ranks._

_How... how silly._

"Ah, Yaomomo. You came." Shouto looked up. He was sitting on the first landing in the middle of the stairs. Izuku was sitting at his side.

There were slashes in the carpet covering the stairs, ripped and frayed edges of hard fabric sticking up. When Yaomomo bent down to inspect the rips, she noticed the faint speckles of blood among the frays and cuts.

"Yeah, there are the bloody slashes in the carpet. That was what I was looking at earlier. Anyway, I wanted to give you my own account. Come on, sit down here." Shouto patted the carpet to his left, since Izuku was at his right. Yaomomo took the opportunity gratefully, content to be at his side.

"Last night, I was awoken at about midnight by a banging noise. I got up to investigate, and realized that the wooden barricade I'd put up over the vent had been broken down. The vent grate had fallen as well. When I looked down the vent, however, nobody was there. There was a bend in the vents just down to the left of my vent entrance, so maybe they crawled over there to hide.

"Anyway, I got nervous and left the room. I had been staying at Izuku's, since he had been locked in mine. I stayed at Mirio's for the night. When I was on my way to the upstairs dorm in the morning, I saw Eijirou's body. I had been carrying my blanket and pillow, so I quickly went back to the room to drop it off. I entered to find the room a mess.

"Someone had clearly entered and ransacked Izuku's dorm, where I had been residing. The vent cover had been bashed down again. There was a weight on the floor next to it, so I suppose the vent intruder had re-entered after I left. However, sweeping over my room, nothing had been taken."

"Are you absolutely sure nothing had been taken?" Yaomomo asked. "How could you possibly keep track of every little thing that was in the room? It's Izuku's, not yours."

"I don't own much," Izuku spoke up. "There's nothing fancy in it, unlike the other Ultimates' themed stuff. There was my extra sets of clothes, my bed and the things that came with it, like the slippers, sheets, and pillow; my notepad, which I hadn't used; a pen, the toiletries and spares in the cabinet, and a pack of tissues. That's all." He'd reeled off the list with ease.

"I confirm what he just said," Shouto said. On the desk was the one pen and the completely unused notepad. I'd actually started using it during my stay. I only filled in the top page, though, and it hadn't been taken. I hope you don't mind," He added to Izuku, who shook his head good-naturedly.

"Okay, then. Can I go see the room?" Yaomomo inquired. "Have you cleaned any of it up?"

"Of course not. There'd been a murder. My focus had been on telling everyone about it so investigation could begin." Shouto's voice was surprised, which seldom happened.

"Ah, of course. Anyway, can I go see?" Yaomomo asked her first question again.

"Sure. I'll continue the account as we walk." Shouto got up, Izuku following suit. The three of them went up the stairs and towards Izuku's dorm.

As the trio reached the landing, however, Yaomomo noticed something on the floor. "Is this a... bloodstain?" She knelt down to inspect the off-color stain in the carpet about a meter from the landing.

"It appears so," Izuku said grimly. Shouto nodded in affirmation.

"It's in a strange place. We'll figure it out later, I think," he said. "Come on, now. We can take a look at the dorm."

They continued walking.

"Now, despite finding my room a mess, I dropped the blanket and pillows on the bed and left," Shouto said, continuing his account. "I went back and told Mirio and Tamaki, and Nejire of the crime. I got Tsuyu and Denki along the way. I was out getting everyone when Denki got you."

Shouto reached the 1-I room door and opened it, stepping into the small common area. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Izuku's key.

"You have that?" Yaomomo asked.

"Of course. On my way out the dorm, I'd grabbed both my own and Izuku's key. I also locked my own door. Since the doors are only lockable using the keys, it was to keep Izuku in." Shouto turned the knob and pushed the door open, casting a strip of light over the dorm.

He was right. It was a complete and utter disaster. The bed had been stripped, obviously in a haste as the blankets and sheets lay in a heap on top of the bare mattress. The drawers of the cabinet and dresser were slightly ajar, and the bathroom door was wide open as well. The notebook was on the floor, the top page indeed filled with notes in Shouto's messy scrawl.

"As you can see, the room has been wrecked by someone, probably in search of something. And yet they didn't take a thing... how curious," Shouto remarked.

"Funny," Yaomomo muttered. She stepped into the room and approached the vent. There was a wooden barricade, slightly dented and lying on the floor. The vent cover was lying on top of it. There was a weight next to it.

Yaomomo crouched down by the weight and rolled it over. It was a mere fifteen pound weight, so it gave easily.

She got back up and wandered around the room idly, checking the drawers and desk. "It does look like whoever had broken in had been searching for something," she concluded. "But according to you, Shouto, nothing is missing."

"Yes," he confirmed. "Ah, and I think we should go collect some accounts now, like last time," he continued. "It helped last time, didn't it?"

"Okay," Yaomomo said placidly, following him out of the dorm.

Once outside, Izuku suggested, "Maybe we should see who last saw Eijirou. Figure out his situation, or something like that."

"Alright... since both of you had been in confinement for the last few days, I don't think either of you saw anything. I last saw him in the dining hall yesterday morning. He wasn't eating much. We parted ways and I didn't see him again all day," Shouto said.

"Who's closest to him?" Izuku asked.

"Katsuki was his closest companion, but he's dead," Yaomomo stated bluntly. "Most of his friend group is gone, actually. Just Denki is left."

"Then let's go find him," Shouto concluded, walking away. "Come along, now."

The trio found Denki downstairs. He was hovering over the body, having adjusted Eijirou's body into a more comfortable position, so he -like Kyouka- appeared as if he were merely sleeping, and could awaken at any moment, smile, and get on with his day.

Of course, that was a fantasy. A fantasy that was a broken creation of their poisoned minds, a useless shimmer of hope in a dark world that only spoke of sickness and death.

"Hey, Denki," Yaomomo said softly, as to avoid startling him. The electric blonde looked up with tear-filled, dreary eyes.

_He looks so tired._

"We wanted to ask for your account," Shouto said. "Since you knew Eijirou relatively well."

"U-Umm... I wouldn't say that, but I did see Eijirou yesterday," Denki replied, his voice small and meek. Yaomomo leaned forward slightly to hear him. "He was in the kitchen... I was passing by and saw him walk out. It must've been mid-afternoon when that happened."

"Alright. Thank you, Denki," Shouto said.

"Anything else? Maybe over the past week, anything odd?" Yaomomo prodded. Denki fidgeted, as if uncomfortable with her blank gray stare fixed on him.

"Err... he wasn't eating much, I think..." he managed. "That's it."

"Okay, then. Thanks, Denki," Yaomomo finished. As soon as she did, she noticed a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye. She jumped, glancing down the corridor she just had her back to, and spotted Mezou strolling away.

"Oh, Mezou," Yaomomo called, hastily giving chase after him. Mezou turned to glare down at her.

"What do you want?" He hissed.

"Your account," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Why should I give my time and sightings to you?" he asked darkly. "You're all just traitors and killers who'll take each other's trust and information, before backstabbing them. Selfish, miserable rats," he grumbled.

"Didn't Fumikage tell you to keep living, Mezou?" Yaomomo's voice suddenly softened dangerously. She stood on her toes so that they were almost the same height.

"Hm?" Mezou blinked.

"If you have information, and don't give it to us, we might all die, and that'd be your fault," she said grimly. "And you'd die too. How would you preserve Fumikage's memory now?"

Mezou shuddered, his eyes alight with renewed, white-hot anger, followed by sorrow. He wilted into silence. The two stared at each other.

Then he spoke.

"Fine. I saw Eijirou yesterday night. It was eight-thirty. He entered the gym- I was working on my weights, and throwing them across the room, since nobody else usually came in. I had been taking a break, and he rushed in, grabbed something from against the wall, and rushed off."

Yaomomo took in the information, storing it in her mind for later. "Thank you for your account," she said politely, before walking back to Shouto, Izuku, and Denki, who were all waiting for her.

"You got an account out of _him?!"_ Denki murmured.

"It wasn't that hard," she replied promptly. "Anyway, what do you think of this case, Shouto?"

"What do I-? Why are you asking me that, all of a sudden?" The heterochronous male seemed startled by the sudden request.

"Well, you're the Ultimate Theorist, after all. What do you think the motive would've been?" Yaomomo inquired in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well... it may have been Monokuma's own motive. The Despair Sickness motive," he began slowly. "Maybe someone really did kill in order to stop the illness from spreading further. Also, Monokuma said he had an antidote... he would cure every sick person the moment a death occurred. Perhaps those things would be important to the case."

Yaomomo was about to reply when a bell rang overhead.

_"Ding, dong, bing, bong..."_

The monitors flickered to life, Monokuma's face endorning all of their screens. _"Ahem! Investigation is now over! Please make your way to the elevator ASAP! Upupupu... see you soon!"_

With that, the screen flashed to darkness once more.

Wordlessly, the group of students headed downstairs, to the elevator. When all of them had gathered, the doors opened, and they stepped on.

_There's so few people left,_ Yaomomo realized. _Me, Shouto, Izuku, Denki, Mashirao, Hitoshi, Tsuyu, Mirio, Nejire, Tamaki, Mei, Tooru, Mezou..._

_Thirteen of us, and one is a killer._

_The blackened of the case, the murderer of Eijirou Kirishima..._

_Will be revealed in this trial._


	30. Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood - Part 4 - Class Trial

Yaomomo stepped out of the elevator among her classmates, the sight of the ornate trial room reinforcing itself in her permanent memory. It felt so familiar to her, yet at the same time, so wrong, every time she stepped into its grounds. She halted among the crowd and looked up at Monokuma, who sat atop the throne with Dabi, awaiting instructions.

"Heeeeeello kids!" Monokuma smiled. "Please go to your podiums! You know the drill by now!"

The class was silent as everyone approached their podiums. Today, Fumikage and Eijirou were replaced by their profile signs.

_Another two lost to death. The last we'll see of them are these signs, these podiums..._

"Puhuhu! Are we ready? Now let the class trial begin!"

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"Let's start with the Monokuma File, like always," Mirio prompted, after an awkward pause. _Fumikage always started off the trial with that line,_ Yaomomo mused. _Only now do we realize how much we'd depended on him._

"Yeah, that'd be fine," Denki murmured, his voice downcast and unspirited.

"Mirio, you have the File, right?" Tamaki turned to the blonde.

"Yup. I'll start, then." Mirio took out the File and scrolled down.

"The victim is Eijirou Kirishima. There are multiple stab wounds in his abdomen. His left eye is ripped out, and there are light burns on his neck. Also, there is a gash on his arm and a single stab wound in his back. His time of death is about fifty past midnight. That's it," Mirio finished.

"So... we have to figure out the weapon, as well as the fatal wound," Hitoshi said.

"Let's start with the fatal wound. Since this File gives _all_ wounds, that includes the fatal one. So we just have to go off of that," Shouto deducted.

"Okay then. Let's talk about what Eijirou's fatal wound is," Tsuyu prompted.

_Talk about it... okay. I can do that..._

_After all, I did do the autopsy._

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Denki's Account, Ceiling Tile, Monokuma's Antidote, Yaomomo's Autopsy, Knife Two - Potted Plant<_

"Eijirou's wounds included stab wounds to the abdomen, a ripped out eyeball..." Mashirao began, "...burns, a stab to the back, and a gash on the arm."

"We can obviously rule out the gash on the arm as the fatal wound," Izuku began. "Any of the other options could have been fatal."

"The burns are probably from the wires, since some were exposed. It also explains why they're so light," Shouto said.

"Then the burns themselves can't be fatal, but it's the physical wound that came from hanging," Denki murmured. "So it's possible that killed him."

"I agree with Denki," Nejire said. "Eijirou was probably hung to death."

"But what about the stab wounds, or the gouged-out eyeball? They could easily be fatal," Mezou grumbled coldly.

"His eye being ripped out couldn't have been fatal," Tooru argued. "It would hurt a lot, but it shouldn't actually be fatal."

"But the blood loss could kill him. Such a major injury would bleed a lot," Shouto shot back.

"Oh, and could those stab wounds themselves have really killed him? It's possible **they weren't fatal,** but the subsequent blood loss was," Mashirao suggested.

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Yaomomo's Autopsy : Counter!<_

"During my autopsy, I determined that the stab wounds were clearly deep enough to puncture vital organs," Yaomomo explained. "They could definitely be the fatal wound."

"But what if the killer hung Eijirou, _then_ mutilated his body?" Tooru suggested.

"But why would they mutilate the body if he's already dead?" Tsuyu asked softly.

"To confuse us, maybe?" Mei wondered.

"Guys, it's got to be the stab wounds," Mashirao spoke up. "Like Yaomomo said, they were deep enough to kill. Besides, it makes no sense to mutilate a dead body. You only leave behind more evidence."

"Well, we can't continue in our discussion until this is settled," Shouto murmured. "So why don't we-"

_"HOLD ON!!!"_

_>Break!<_

"Ooh, so soon? You're barely five minutes into the debate and you're already split right down the middle! In that case... it's time... for the most anticipated Scrum Debate!" Monokuma cheered. Dabi sighed and handed down the controller.

"A Scrum Debate? Already?" Tamaki murmured.

_Starting off on a split note... this is just great._

Monokuma slid the key into the controller and turned it, like twisting a knife in someone's chest. The trial room began to glow, the podiums lighting up and rising. The light was gentle, soft, but it made Yaomomo's eyes ache, as if she were gazing at an angel.

...

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_What was Eijirou's fatal wound?_

_Eijirou died from hanging: Mei, Tooru, Izuku, Nejire, Denki, Hitoshi_

_Eijirou died from the stab wounds: Shouto, Mashirao, Tamaki, Mezou, Tsuyu, Mirio, Yaomomo<_

"Of all the wounds, hanging is the most likely to be fatal!" Mei claimed.

_"Mezou."_

"The stab wounds could've pierced vital organs, so they're just as **likely,"** the Heavylifter said.

"It's possible the killer hung Eijirou, and then mutilated the body," Tooru repeated.

_"Tsuyu."_

"What reason would they have to **mutilate** the body?" she retorted.

"They could've been trying to distract us from the real cause of death," Izuku suggested.

_"Mirio."_

"Hanging couldn't have been the of death, because the Monokuma File mentioned nothing about its aftereffects as wounds," the blonde said.

"The Monokuma File mentioned burns, which are from Eijirou being hung," Hitoshi said.

_"I'll do it."_

"The **burns** were from the wires physically being around his neck. They aren't an effect of being hung, such as cutoff of oxygen to the brain," Yaomomo stated.

"It's also possible Eijirou mutilated his own body, then hung himself," Nejire suddenly suggested.

_"Tamaki."_

"If Eijirou did that to **himself,** he wouldn't have been able to remove his stepping stool from the scene, apart from maybe kicking it," the Florist spluttered.

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>W - D - W - S<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"No matter how you look at it, the points do not line up," Yaomomo said slowly. "Everything points to the stab wounds in Eijirou's stomach being fatal."

"Mutilating the body would potentially leave behind more evidence. It's a risky move to make," Shouto said. "And Eijirou couldn't have mutilated himself and committed suicide right after. He wouldn't have had time to kick a stepping stool away, since there's no other way to reach the ceiling."

"Besides, it's unlikely he could've withstood the pain of gouging out his own eye without passing out," Mezou said.

"Y-Yeah... Nejire, where did _that_ idea come from?" Tamaki shuddered.

"I dunno... it kinda popped into my head," the girl responded dejectedly.

"So now that we've determined the stab wounds to be the cause of death, I suppose we can also figure out when the body was hung," Tsuyu commented.

_When the body was hung... I know that..._

_>Select an answer:_

_Before Eijirou was stabbed_

_After Eijirou was killed_

_During the body mutilation, while Eijirou was alive<_

_>After Eijirou was killed : I got it.<_

"Eijirou's body must've been hung after he was stabbed to death," Yaomomo said. "And he was definitely on the ground when he died."

"Hm? How'd you determine that?" Tooru asked.

_There's a piece of evidence that proves it..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet<_

_..._

_>Bloodstains on Floor Five : I got it.<_

"There was a large blood pool in the carpet directly under where Eijirou was hanging," Yaomomo said. "There was a bit too much blood on the floor to be only from the wounds dripping throughout the night.

"Eijirou must've been killed first and collapsed on the floor, allowing blood to freely run all over the carpet. The killer then hung him up, but couldn't get rid of the bloodstain because it was in the carpet," she finished.

"Ah... that makes sense," Izuku murmured. "But in that case... how did the killer hang him up? Like Shouto mentioned before, you would need a stepladder of some sort to reach the ceiling, remove the tile, and hang the body."

"It would have to be near the scene. I doubt the killer was confident enough that they'd try moving such a large piece of evidence that far, with the risk of being seen," Hitoshi commented.

_Near the scene... there was definitely something near the scene that could be used as a stepladder._

_>Select something from the scene<_

_..._

_>Cabinet : I got it.<_

"It must've been that cabinet in the common area of Eijirou and Katsuki's dorms, in room 1-A." _Ah. Our former homeroom. How fitting,_ Yaomomo thought. "The cabinet was facing the wrong way when I checked it during investigation. Every cabinet in every room, based on our previous investigations of the school, face the entry doorway into the hall. However, this one faced Eijirou's door. It was backwards."

"So the killer went into the nearest room, dragged out the cabinet, used it as a stepladder... removed the tile, hung up Eijirou, and moved the cabinet back into the room, without noticing they'd put it the wrong way," Mashirao recapped.

"That seems about right," Hitoshi commented. "Just one thing... where did that ceiling tile go? If it was removed, where did the killer take it?"

_Where the tile is..._

_>Select an answer:_

_Closet_

_Room 1-A_

_Under the floorboards<_

_>Closet : I got it.<_

"It was in the closet," Yaomomo said. "I went in there, and it was laying on top of the closet's contents, like someone hastily threw it in without bothering to hide it."

"Very obvious... whoever this killer was clearly wasn't too careful," Shouto murmured. "Maybe they were a little too scared of being caught, and got hasty..?"

"Whatever the case, we have to work with the evidence they left," Mashirao commented. "Which is quite a lot."

"Now that we've established a fatal wound and burns, we should examine the rest of them," Yaomomo suggested. "There's a single stab to his back, a gash on his arm, as well as his eyeball."

"Why would he have so many wounds, especially such a major one as the ripped out eyeball?" Tooru asked. "There's no reason for a killer to injure him so much... you just need one clean shot to leave behind the least evidence."

"I believe it was intentional," Shouto suddenly spoke up.

"Intentional? What do you mean?" Tsuyu tilted her head.

"The killer tried to mutilate the dead body after he killed Eijirou, in order to make it more difficult for us to pin down a solid fatal wound, in addition to hanging it," Shouto explained. "Or they tortured Eijirou before dealing the fatal blow."

"T-Tortured him?!" Denki wailed. "Why... why would anyone do such a thing?"

"It's as unbelievable a thing as the idea of our friends killing each other. Which has already happened, several times now. So... it's not that unlikely," Tamaki sighed.

"Let's recap what we know," Mirio prompted. "See if there are any loose ends we forgot to cover."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Stab wounds, Hanging, Bloodstains on Floor #5, Eyeball, Knife One - Eyeball<_

"So, when the killer attacked Eijirou," Mei began, "they stabbed him several times in the stomach, **which was fatal."**

"As for the other wounds, they were either from the killer torturing Eijirou, or mutilating his dead body to confuse us," Nejire said.

"They probably stabbed him in the back with the same knife as the one used for the wounds in his abdomen," Shouto murmured. "The gash on his arm was from the same weapon as well."

"And the eyeball's obvious, right? The killer **stabbed it out** using the knife driven through it," Izuku declared.

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Eyeball : Counter!<_

"When I inspected the eyeball, the back of it was slightly squished," Yaomomo said. "I believe someone ripped out Eijirou's eye with their own fingers, hence the squish marks."

"So... they stabbed through the eye with the knife afterwards, to make it seem like it'd been stabbed out?" Izuku inquired further.

"Yeah, I believe so," the Affluent Progeny replied grimly.

"Wh-What?! Why would someone do that, when they had that knife handy?" Tooru spoke up.

"I-I agree with her. Who'd be mental enough to do something so... _disgusting_ by hand?" Tamaki asked.

"...I'm not sure," Yaomomo murmured in response.

A silence fell over the group. It, indeed, was a conflicting situation; why would the killer choose to gouge out Eijirou's eye with their own hands when they had other tools available?

Mezou sighed, shattering the glassy silence. "Is it seriously that difficult? There's only one solution here, and it's pretty obvious."

"Well, Mezou, what is your idea?" Shouto prompted.

The Heavylifter huffed. "For a group that's solved four cases already, you're all actually sort of dull. Remember what motive Monokuma gave us?"

_The motive Monokuma gave us... it's..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Despair Sickness Motive : I got it.<_

"You mean the Despair Sickness, right, Mezou?" Yaomomo replied, her words soft and careful.

"Exactly so," Mezou said. "Anyone with the Sickness was practically out of their mind insane... it wouldn't be a stretch to think one of them had gotten out and attacked Eijirou. That would include ripping out his eye, seeing how far gone they were."

"The victims of the Despair Sickness were... Tsuyu, Tamaki, Mei, Izuku, Yaomomo, and Mashirao," Tooru said. "So... one of them is the killer?"

"According to the fact Eijirou's eye was gouged out by _hand,_ yes. No one else would be insane enough to do that," Mezou said.

"But you can't confirm that," Yaomomo argued back. "All of the victims of Despair Sickness were locked up in their rooms with guards. It doesn't make sense. Besides, with that clear of a possibility open, anyone could've gone the extra mile and imitated such an action."

"I suppose you could put it that way," Mezou grumbled. "Fine. Do what you'd like. Just remember what I've said."

"We'll think about it after we've figured out the case map," Yaomomo said dismissively. "Where were we again?"

"We were establishing each of Eijirou's wounds," Denki murmured. "But we've already done that. Eijirou was tortured or had his body mutilated, hence the stab to his back, and the gash on his arm. His fatal wounds were the stabs to his abdomen. His eye was ripped out as a part of the body mutilation."

"The other thing missing from the File is the weapon used to deliver the fatal wound," Shouto spoke up. "So we should fill in that gap first."

"In that case, let's discuss. What was the murder weapon used to kill Eijirou?" Mirio prompted.

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Shouto's Account, Stab Wounds, Bloodstains on Floor 6, Mezou's Deduction, Knife One - Eyeball<_

"What was the weapon used to stab Eijirou?" Mirio inquired.

"I bet it was the **knife in the eyeball,"** Hitoshi said. "They stabbed Eijirou, then reused it by impaling it in the eye."

"What if they took the weapon away from the scene, like what Fumikage did with Kyouka?" Tooru suggested. "I mean, what else was there onsite that could be used?"

"How about the **knife Nejire found** buried in the plant?" Tamaki spoke up.

_"I agree with that."_

_>Stab Wounds : Consent!<_

"Tamaki is right. The knife in the potted plant was larger than the one impaled through the eyeball, and it was covered in blood to the hilt. The width of the blade also matches the width of the stab wounds," Yaomomo explained. "It's the most likely murder weapon."

"Now that we've filled the blanks in the File, we should recap again to make sure everything's consistent," Tooru suggested. "Just in case."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Cabinet, Hanging, Wires, Bloodstains on Floor 6, Monokuma File #5<_

"Eijirou's fatal wounds were the **stab wounds** in his abdomen," Tamaki began.

"And the weapon used to do so was the knife Nejire found in the plant," Shouto continued.

"The killer took two knives with them, though," Izuku noted. "They stabbed the second one through Eijirou's eyeball, which they'd ripped out by... by hand."

"They also hung him up on the ceiling," Mashirao said.

"But before all that," Mei spoke up. "The killer **attacked Eijirou on the fifth floor,** in the dorm hallway."

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Bloodstains on Floor 6 : Counter!<_

"There were bloodstains upstairs, as well as slashed carpet on the stairs," Yaomomo explained. "I believe the killer attacked Eijirou upstairs and wounded him, hence the bloodstain. However, the wound wasn't fatal, and Eijirou fled down the stairs."

"So which wound was dealt upstairs?" Nejire asked. "It couldn't have been the eye, or the stab wounds in the front."

"So it's either the gash on his arm, or the stab to his back," Hitoshi commented. "Which one..?"

_Which wound was fatal... it must've been..._

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_Which of Eijirou's wounds were inflicted on floor six?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_>STAB TO THE BACK : I got it.<_

_>Break!<_

"It must've been the stab wound on Eijirou's back," Yaomomo deducted. "He was most likely attacked from behind, so a single stab to the back would be sufficient."

"I agree," Shouto spoke up. "If a killer were the approach someone with intention to attack them, especially at night, they wouldn't walk up to him from the front. It's too obvious, and Eijirou has time to react and run. It's more likely they attacked him from behind."

"But what if they attacked him and he fell?" Denki suggested. "Besides, one stab wound shouldn't leave that much blood."

"Then there's the possibility the killer made him fall, before stabbing him in the back and slashing his arm," Shouto replied. "There couldn't have been too much blood lost, because there wasn't a blood trail down the stairs."

"Based on this conversation, I think we can assume the killer attacked Eijirou upstairs," Tsuyu concluded, "wounded him non-fatally... pursued him downstairs when he broke free and fled... and finally killed him on the fifth floor. They had either tortured him there, or mutilated his body afterwards. They also hung him up."

"Speaking of the pursuit... what about the slashed stairs?" Hitoshi asked. "Why are they all cut up?"

"There's... no clear answer," Shouto said. "I see no reason for the stairs to naturally get slashed in such a pursuit."

"There were blood stains on the slashes. They were slashed with the same knife that was the murder weapon," Yaomomo said. "But it could've been done before or after Eijirou died. My best guess is that the killer slashed the stairs as a distraction or diversion after Eijirou died. It seems unlikely during a hot pursuit for someone to bend over and cut the carpet as they run."

"For now, we should leave it," Tooru suggested. "If it seems that unnecessary, it shouldn't be so major a clue."

"In that case, we've covered quite a lot of ground," Mei noted. "Yaomomo... why don't you give us a sorta abridged closing argument?"

"...why are you relying on Yaomomo to do all the work?" Hitoshi asked.

"Because! She's like, the smartest of us here. She's like... um... ooh! She's like our own personal Ultimate Detective!" Mei grinned.

_What..? Why does everyone keep calling me that? Isn't it obvious that I'm doing this just because I was handed the role, and because otherwise someone needed to step up to Hanta's job..?_

"It's fine, Hitoshi. I'll do it," Yaomomo said. "The case so far... it's clear..."

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: Where did the killer attack Eijirou?_  
_Left: Floor six_  
_Middle: Floor four_  
_Right: Floor five_  
_Left: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What did Eijirou do after being attacked and wounded?_  
_Left: Died on floor six_  
_Middle: Ran downstairs to floor five_  
_Right: Ran upstairs to floor seven_  
_Middle: Correct!<_

_.._

_>Question 3: Where was Eijirou fatally wounded?_  
_Left: Floor six_  
_Middle: Stairs_  
_Right: Floor five_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_.._

_>Question 4: What did the killer do after killing Eijirou?_  
_Left: Hung up his body_  
_Middle: Mutilated and hung up his body_  
_Right: Mutilated his body_  
_Middle: Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: Floor six_  
_Question 2: Ran downstairs to floor five_  
_Question 3: Floor five_  
_Question 4: Mutilated and hung up his body<_

_>Break!<_

"Here's the order of events...

"The killer attacked Eijirou on floor six from behind. After wounding him, Eijirou escaped and fled down the stairs. The killer followed him, and killed him on floor five. After killing him, they mutilated his body -that is, if they hadn't tortured him before dealing the fatal wound- and hung Eijirou up on the ceiling by the wires," Yaomomo explained.

"Explained so eloquently! That's our Ultimate Detective for you," Tooru encouraged.

_Oh, please, why this again..?_ "...let's just move on," Yaomomo murmured, the title her classmates had bestowed upon her burning in her brain.

"Since we have the general gist of what happened down, as well as the time of death... does anyone have any accounts?" Mirio inquired.

"I do." Shouto immediately spoke up. "Last night, at around midnight, I woke up to someone breaking down my vent cover. I'd put a barricade up against the vent. I went to investigate, and nobody was there. I left the dorm -Izuku's, which was where I decided to stay after he took over my own room-, and stayed at Mirio's for the night. In the morning, the room had been ransacked, but nothing had been taken. A weight was left by the vent cover, which had been knocked down again."

"Are you _sure_ nothing was taken?" Nejire piped up.

"Yes. I had just the same conversation with Izuku and Yaomomo earlier, actually; of Izuku's meager possessions, nothing was missing when we scoured the room," Shouto confirmed.

"If this is the case... we should figure out, first and foremost, who had knocked down the vent cover," Tamaki said.

_Who knocked down the vent cover... it's obvious who did it, if you consider the presence of the weight..._

_>Select a person!<_

_..._

_>Eijirou Kirishima : It's got to be you.<_

"It was probably Eijirou," she said aloud.

"Hm? Eijirou? Even my genius brain didn't consider that! Where did you get that idea?" Mei prompted.

"I'm not certain yet," Yaomomo said. "But I could confirm or disprove with a certain someone's account. Hold on."

_The account I deduced that from..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Mezou's Account : I got it.<_

"Mezou. You told me that you saw Eijirou enter the gym, grab something, and leave," Yaomomo said. "Could you repeat your account in more detail again?"

"Fine. It was yesterday night, about eight-thirty. I was in the gym, throwing weights across the length of the room. Eijirou ran in, snatched something from along the wall, and then left. I didn't see what he took," Mezou said.

"You said you were throwing weights across the room. Did any hit the wall?" Shouto asked, catching onto Yaomomo's logic.

"Of course," Mezou huffed. "Most of them hit the wall."

"What were the weights of the ones you threw?" Tamaki continued.

"I threw the lightest ones first, just for fun, before gradually increasing in weight. The lightest weights are three kilos, seven, ten, fifteen, and so on. Why?" Mezou's eyes were icy as he regarded Yaomomo, Shouto, and Tamaki.

"Did Eijirou grab something from the wall you were throwing at?" Tamaki insisted, ignoring Mezou's question.

"Yes! Now tell me, why are you asking?" Mezou snapped.

"That confirms it," Shouto murmured.

"Confirms what?" The Heavylifter retorted.

"It confirms that Eijirou was the one who grabbed the weight, and therefore the one who broke down the vent cover with said vent," Yaomomo replied calmly. "But why would-"

_"That's wrong!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold on! Something doesn't add up," Denki cut in.

"What?" Yaomomo said slowly.

"It's about the vents," Denki said. "I'm going to convince you why Eijirou couldn't have broken down the vent cover!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Denki Kaminari : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Monokuma File #5, Cabinet, Eyeball, Hanging, Denki's Account, Mezou's Account<_

"In order to break down the vent cover," Denki began, "You'd have to go in from inside the vent. But how would Eijirou fit in the vent? We did the test with Fu-Fumikage all the way back, right after we'd failed the second case. There was **just enough space for him!** There's no way Eijirou, of all people, would fit!"

"You say Eijirou wouldn't fit in the vent? Why not?" Yaomomo asked.

"B-Because! His build is too wide, and his **figure is too big** in general to fit," Denki reasoned.

_"I'll cut through your words."_

_>Denki's Account : Cut!<_

"According to your own account, Eijirou had been eating less after Katsuki died. He could've lost enough weight to conceivably fit in the vent. Also, height doesn't matter much either; even if you were as tall as Mezou, but you were very thin, you would definitely fit," Yaomomo said.

"Hm... that makes sense, I guess. Alright then. Continue..." Denki practically deflated, shutting his mouth.

"It's fine, Denki. No need to be upset. Anyway, there's something else that also proves Eijirou went through the vents, for sure," Yaomomo said.

"Something that proves he went through the vents..? What else could there have been?" Nejire inquired, her sky-blue eyes alight with... _curiosity?_ It'd been so long since Yaomomo had seen the bluette with her naive, child-like thirst for knowledge.

_The item of her curiosity, the item that makes it obvious Eijirou went through the vents... I can see it now..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Map of the Vents : I got it.<_

"When I was investigating Eijirou's body, I found... this." Yaomomo reached down and pulled out the map from its place tucked under her belt. She unfolded it and showed the image to the trial room.

"What is that? It looks like some map, or graph," Hitoshi noted.

"It's- that's a blueprint, or map of some complex system!" Mei suddenly spoke up, excitement in her voice. "It's so complex... look at all the symbols and layers! It's so messy... why is it drawn on normal paper, instead of graph paper?"

"Relax, Mei. You can examine it later," Shouto said. "Anyway, from what I can tell, it's a map of... the vents."

"The... vents?" Denki murmured. "How would Eijirou get-"

"A map of the vents?! That again?" Tooru cried out.

"Two killers have used them already! We should've known they'd prove to be only trouble," Hitoshi muttered.

"Yeah! We should've just blocked them off-!" Mashirao jumped to agree.

"Even worse, there's now a _map_ of them for anyone to use? Even if you didn't spend ages exploring the system, you'd be able to utilize them with this!" Izuku wailed.

"Yeah, that looks like it," Tsuyu murmured, her voice haunted and quiet. _She's probably thinking of the time Yuga dragged her through them..._ "But like what Denki was trying to say, where would Eijirou have obtained such a thing? We investigated the whole school... wouldn't someone have spoken out if they found this sort of thing?"

"Maybe not," Mezou suggested, his voice deadpan and cold. "Maybe... maybe someone kept it a secret."

"..." "..." "..." Yaomomo glanced around the trial room. Most of the class was about as startled as you'd expect them to be. However, she noticed a certain trio had yet to speak, and the expressions on their faces were, under a thin mask of surprise, painfully awkward and horrified.

_As if they know what it is._

"Haven't you been quiet..." Yaomomo muttered.

"Huh? What did you say?" Nejire asked. She was trying to act casual, Yaomomo could tell; it was a pretty good deception, actually, spare for the fact her hands were shaking and her eyes were like a startled rabbit's.

"Nejire. Mirio. Tamaki." Yaomomo looked up and looked at each member of the Big Three in turn, holding up the map at them. When she said each of their names, each respective person looked like they'd been stabbed in the chest. "You've seen this map before, haven't you?"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Tamaki stammered. "I've never seen that paper in my life!"

"Yeah! What are you trying to pull, Yaomomo? Has your detective intellect gotten you confused, somehow?" Mirio asked.

"What do you mean, we've seen that map before?" Nejire inquired. "We definitely haven't!"

"Don't play dumb with her," Shouto said darkly. A jolt went through Yaomomo's skin. _Why's he speaking up for me?_ "It's obvious from your reactions that Yaomomo's right."

"For once, I agree with him, and our newly-fledged Detective, too," Mezou said. "Why don't all three of you just play nice, and explain to us how you know what the map is? Even if I don't care about this class, I don't like backstabbers and deceptive cowards."

_Isn't that sort of contradictory? Didn't Fumikage lie and deceive us about his Ultimate talent?_ Yaomomo thought. _Oh, well. I guess as long as he doesn't try to kill him in the process of lying, it's okay._

At the very least, Mezou's threat got the three of them talking, despite the fact that they could probably, logistically, take on the Heavylifter if things did get violent.

"Well... remember a while back, before Fumikage's crime, when we all decided to investigate around. Tamaki, Nejire, and I decided to investigate the principal's office. Any of you who investigated the door can confirm, right?" Mirio began to explain.

"I remember that!" Denki blurted out. "Ah, um... I can confirm you three were in the principal's office, yeah... what does that mean, though?"

"Well, we found the map in there. A blueprint, color-coded and printed perfectly, of the vent system, all labeled and marked up. We decided to keep it a secret, because if it got out... we sort of expected something like this to happen," Mirio continued.

"Why the fuck would you keep something so major a _secret?!"_ Mezou yelled. "Didn't you consider that you would all get very, very suspicious, keeping something like that? At least one of you could actually fit in those things, too!"

"Y-Yeah... we kind of did realize that after Mirio took the map and hid it in his room," Tamaki murmured. "We just thought that if we kept it hidden until we escaped, it would never be a problem..."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out," Hitoshi muttered, his voice edged with cold. "You could barely hold that paper for a few weeks before something happened with it!"

"H-Hey, hold on, guys!" Mei cried out.

"What? This is an important lead," Izuku said, his voice trembling at the end, while his jade eyes darted to Mirio. He obviously didn't like the way this was going, especially considering his upperclassman friend.

"Mirio said the map he found was a blueprint. It was also apparently color-coded and printed. The map we found on Eijirou is none of that!" Mei pointed at the map Yaomomo was still limply holding up. "It's handwritten, messy, and all in pencil! Plus, I doubt such an important blueprint would be put on such a lousy piece of computer paper!"

"The original was on graph paper, and each floor's vents were color-coded, so you could see them a bit better," Nejire put in. "And yeah, that map Yaomomo has is definitely not the one we found. It's the same content, but... not the same."

"I agree with her," Tamaki spoke up. "Mirio still has the original copy, anyway. He checks it every morning..."

"Yup! And this morning, it was still there!" The Ultimate Hope added.

"So it's a copy of the original blueprint," Tsuyu mused. "Where could've Eijirou got that?"

"Did you guys make any copies of the map?" Shouto asked.

"No! Why would we need to do that?" Nejire retorted immediately. "We were going to keep it a secret, so why would we make _copies_ of it?"

"But even then, this is still suspicious," Yaomomo said. "You guys had the original map. Eijirou died with a handwritten copy of it in his pocket. It's connected, so in a way, you guys are connected to this case."

"Are you suspecting us?!" Nejire wailed. "Why would you suspect us? We never would've shown the map to anyone!"

_>Double!<_

"And we still have the original copy, safe in my cabinet!" Mirio added. "How do you explain that?"

_>Triple!<_

"Yeah! Besides, even if Eijirou somehow got the map from us, the logic doesn't add up! None of us could've been the culprit anyway!" Tamaki declared, surprisingly confident.

_"It doesn't make sense!"_

_"It just doesn't add up!"_

_"It's not logical!"_

_>Mass Panic Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Shouto's Account, Knife 2 - Potted Plant, Slashed Carpet, Eyeball, Ceiling Tile<_

"You've got to believe me when I say this," Nejire began.

"Even if Eijirou somehow got a copy of that map..." Mirio said.

"We all have alibis! It's useless to suspect us," Tamaki cried.

\---

"I swear that **none of us showed the map** to anyone!" she wailed.

"...that doesn't mean we're suspicious," he reasoned.

"What do you mean, you all have alibis?" Mashirao asked.

\---

"There's no way we can confirm what you're saying for sure," Tsuyu whispered.

"How is that supposed to make sense? Eijirou definitely got a hold of your map," Izuku said.

"Well, I had Despair Sickness, so last night I was with Mirio," Tamaki said.

\---

"Do you trust us that little..?" Nejire murmured, her eyes teary.

"If what you're all claiming is true, then how the heck did Eijirou make a working copy of it?" Hitoshi asked.

"Obviously, if I left sometime in the night, he would've stopped me," the Florist finished.

\---

"I'm sorry, Nejire... it's just that we have to find the truth," Tsuyu replied softly.

"What if Eijirou stole it, copied it down, and then returned it?" Shouto suggested.

"Sure, fine, but **Nejire doesn't have an alibi!** She's still suspicious," Mezou shot back.

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Knife 2 - Potted Plant : Counter!<_

"Nejire was the one who found the knife during investigation. The murder weapon," Yaomomo said.

"That doesn't make her any less suspicious. In fact, that makes it worse," Mashirao said. "How'd she know that digging up a plant would reveal the _murder weapon?"_

"But look at it another way," Denki spoke up. "Well, if Nejire had been the culprit, she'd know where the weapon was. But she also wouldn't reveal it and dig it up. That was the purpose of burying the knife; so people wouldn't find it in investigation."

"That's probably the most intelligent thing I've heard come out your mouth in a while, now," Hitoshi teased.

"...eh?" Denki stared at his friend, looking slightly hurt. He'd obviously taken it seriously.

"Wait, no, I was joking! I'm sorry, Denki!" Hitoshi rushed to apologize.

"Moving on..." Tooru said awkwardly, "How does clearing the Big Three of suspicion contribute to the map thing?"

"It could mean several things," Shouto said. "It's possible they're telling the truth, and Eijirou snuck into Mirio's room, likely through the vents, and copied down the map. He would've had to know they had it, but it's possible he overheard them in the principal's office, anyway.

"A second possibility is that one of them is lying, though. Or more than one," Shouto said cryptically. "Someone could've shown Eijirou the map, hence allowing him to copy it down without thought for the consequence. Or, they were going to try and help him murder someone. There's endless possibilities."

"Help him... murder someone?" Nejire whispered, her voice shaking. "Why would you think such a thing of us..?"

"It's nothing personal, Nejire, I swear," Tooru spoke up. "It's just that we can't take any chances."

"We should move on," Yaomomo cut in. "This is all fine and dandy for finding suspects, but we still haven't figured out the rest of the story. Why would Eijirou break into Izuku's dorm, where Shouto was staying?"

"Yeah... that's something we'll have to answer to figure out the culprit," Izuku noted grimly.

"We'll figure it out," Yaomomo reassured. "Now, let's get back on track."

_We're getting close to something. I can feel it now..._


	31. Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood - Part 5 - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: the doors of the dorms are lockable from both sides, but only lockable using the room key!! it's inconvenient and stupid, for a building design, but I really needed this feature for this case...

"There's something that's been bugging me since we discovered Eijirou was the one who broke down the vent," Mashirao said. _"Why_ did he?"

"Yeah! Why would Eijirou break down _Shouto's_ vent, of all people?" Tooru piped up. "Plus, Shouto wasn't even staying in his room. He was in Izuku's dorm, because Izuku took over his dorm."

"Maybe... Eijirou intended to kill Shouto?" Mei suggested.

"Wha-? Kill Shouto?" Izuku yelped. _Of course he'd freak out if that ever happened._

"Yeah! It makes the most sense, actually!" Mei said. "Eijirou broke into Shouto's room with a weight! Why else would he try to enter the room, anyway?"

"But that doesn't explain why after Shouto left, Eijirou reentered and ransacked the room," Tsuyu said.

"...maybe Eijirou thought Shouto was hiding, and wanted to find him and finish him off?" Tamaki suggested softly.

"If that's the case, why would Eijirou touch things such as the bedsheets, the cabinet, and the desk? I obviously can't hide in any of those places," Shouto spoke up. "My desk was a mess and the drawers had been rummaged through, for example."

"See, he's right," Tsuyu agreed. "Someone in a hurry to kill someone wouldn't waste time on tiny cabinets."

"So what _was_ Eijirou doing?" Hitoshi inquired.

"He was looking for something."

"Say again?" Nejire turned to Yaomomo.

"I said, Eijirou was clearly searching for something in Shouto's room," Yaomomo repeated. "He ransacked the place, and certainly didn't make it a secret he was entering, bashing down the vent cover so loud. A killer wouldn't try to wake up their victim. It was as if Eijirou wanted Shouto to get out."

"If that's the case, what was Eijirou searching for?" Mirio questioned.

_What Eijirou was searching for... I can definitely figure that out, with a bit of work..._

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: What did Eijirou plan to do when he entered Shouto's room?"_  
_Left: To destroy something_  
_Middle: To kill him_  
_Right: To find something_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What did Shouto take with him when he left the room?_  
_Left: Keys, Pillow, Blanket_  
_Middle: Pillow, Blanket, Notebook_  
_Right: Keys, Pillow, Blanket, Notebook_  
_Left: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: Did Eijirou find what he was looking for?_  
_Left: Yes_  
_Right: No_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 4: What was Eijirou looking for?_  
_Left: Keys_  
_Right: Notebook_  
_Left: Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: To find something_  
_Question 2: Keys, Pillow, Blanket_  
_Question 3: No_  
_Question 4: Keys_< 

_>Break!<_

"That's it! Eijirou was looking for the keys," Yaomomo murmured aloud.

"The keys?" Denki asked. "What keys?"

"Shouto and Izuku's dorm keys," Yaomomo replied. "When Shouto moved to Izuku's dorm, he brought his own room key, which was where Izuku stayed, and Izuku's key, where he stayed. Eijirou must've been looking to get one of them."

"Why only one? And how do you know it's the keys?" Hitoshi asked.

"I'll answer your second question first," Yaomomo said. "We know Eijirou entered Shouto's room looking for something. Out of everything left in the room -which was not a lot-, nothing was taken. Shouto and Izuku could both reel off a list of the belongings in the room, most of which being common items in every dorm.

"However, Shouto took three items with him when he left, before Eijirou got in," she continued. "He took the two keys, his pillow, and his blanket. Again, the pillow and blanket are common items in every dorm. Eijirou wouldn't have wanted those. So by process of elimination, he was looking for the keys."

"That's... actually pretty smart," Izuku commented. "But then, what about the thing with it being one key Eijirou was looking for?"

"Eijirou had just entered the room Shouto was in by vent," Yaomomo explained further. Unless he really wanted to open the door for some reason, he doesn't need Izuku's dorm key. Therefore, the key Eijirou was searching for..."

_>Select an Answer:_

_Shouto's dorm key_

_Izuku's dorm key<_

_>Shouto's dorm key : I got it.<_

"...was Shouto's dorm key, where you, Izuku, had been residing."

"Why would Eijirou want the key to that room?" Tsuyu spoke up.

"Yeah! I had the Despair Sickness, remember? Why would Eijirou want to enter... my room?" Izuku asked, confused.

"Oh, and Eijirou had the vent map! Why does he have to go through the door, when going through the vent means entering as well?" Nejire prompted.

"None of this makes sense," Tamaki muttered.

"Eijirou must've wanted to go through the door, for some reason, whatever it is. But why?" Shouto asked. "Like he just said, Izuku had the Despair Sickness. He had the symptom of wrath. He was violent. Why would Eijirou want to approach him?"

"Yeah! To open Izuku's door, when he was like that... that would let him out into the dorms!" Tooru said.

"H-Hey, don't talk about me like I'm some savage animal!" Izuku protested.

"Letting a violent Izuku into the dorms would result in injury, or death, if he attacked someone unprepared," Denki commented. "Why would Eijirou let him out like that?"

"To kill someone for him, perhaps?" Mezou suddenly spoke, for the first time in a while. "Or to kill Shouto? Maybe Eijirou really did want Shouto's key as well, to open the door."

"But Eijirou also scared Shouto out of his room. If that was his intention, he would've failed by doing that in the first place. Eijirou obviously didn't want to kill Shouto, using Izuku," Hitoshi deduced.

"Guys, I think we're forgetting something important here, though," Mashirao suddenly said.

"What?" Tsuyu turned to him.

"Whatever the reason, did Eijirou actually open Izuku's door?" the tailed ex-hero asked. "He didn't get the key. The doors are only unlockable by key."

_Did he..?_

_There's something that proves he did..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Paperclip : I got it.<_

"Yes, Eijirou did open Izuku's door," Yaomomo confirmed, confident in her choice. "He picked the lock using a paperclip. I found it on the floor in front of the door when I went to investigate."

"If that's the case... then Eijirou let Izuku out of his room, before he died," Nejire said. "Oh. Wait a second..."

"To open Izuku's door... paired with this circumstance, that could only result in death," Mirio finished grimly.

"Wh-What are you saying?! I would never kill Eijirou!" Izuku wailed. "He was one of my closest friends! One of the only ones I had left, next to Shouto!" His voice cracked as he said those last words, _'the only ones I had left'._

"You would never kill Eijirou, sure... but the Despair Sickness might say otherwise," Yaomomo countered.

"Hey, Yaomomo. Lighten up on him, would you?" Despite his words, Shouto was staring at Izuku with wide eyes, as if he realized what this case was starting to reveal.

"I can't, Shouto. After Kyouka... you should know that by now." Yaomomo's voice was lifeless, her eyes hazy as she looked at him. He dragged his eyes from his boyfriend to the Affluent Progeny- or the Detective, whatever floats the boat; Yaomomo wasn't even sure of her own talent anymore. "I can only seek the truth."

"If this is what you're going at... give some evidence to prove it," Shouto challenged. _He's going to defend Izuku to the last step,_ she realized. _He's going to let his emotions get the better of him..._

"Of course I have evidence. I wouldn't give a baseless argument," Yaomomo huffed. _Evidence, evidence... let's see..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Slashed Carpet : I got it.<_

"Izuku being the killer would make sense, considering the slashed carpet," Yaomomo said. "If he'd pursued Eijirou down the stairs, he could've ran on all fours, considering his wrath. Shouto, you once said that he attacked you on all fours in your room, back when you tried to accompany him, right?"

"Y-Yes, that's true..." Shouto murmured.

_"...but your logic is inconsistent!"_

_>Break!<_

_Wh... What the fuck?_

"What? What's wrong?" Yaomomo wasn't exactly used to seeing Shouto so riled up.

"You're saying Izuku ran after Eijirou on all fours, carrying knives? Are you absurd?" Shouto hissed.

"Shouto..." Izuku murmured softly from his own podium.

"What do you mean, absurd?" Yaomomo asked.

"What I mean? I'll show you what I mean!" There were tears in Shouto's eyes, Yaomomo could tell; _he knows the truth, but he just doesn't want to accept it._

_I'll have to show him..._

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Shouto Todoroki : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Eyeball, Knife One - Eyeball, Knife Two - Potted Plant, Shouto's Account, Denki's Account<_

"So you say Izuku ran after Eijirou holding knives," Shouto began. "That's illogical, because how could Izuku have obtained knives? There's no way he could've gotten his hands on some blades. Obviously, there were none in his room to begin with, and **nobody would give them to him!"**

_"I will cut through your argument."_

_>Denki's Account : Cut!<_

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?" Shouto stared at Yaomomo.

"According to Denki, Eijirou got something from the kitchen last night. He wasn't sure what he got, but it was likely the knives," Yaomomo said. "Denki. Can you say anything to confirm or deny?"

"Um... not really," Denki replied slowly. "I know he didn't go near the fridge. He didn't say hi to me, either. He was sort of hasty."

"That confirms it, then. Eijirou hurriedly grabbed two knives from the kitchen. If he'd go as far as to open Izuku's door, he might as well provide the weapons," Yaomomo deducted.

"But... to give _Izuku,_ with Despair Sickness, knives... that'd be-" Mashirao was about to say.

"Ah!"

"Hm? What's wrong, Yaomomo?" He cocked his head at her.

"That's it! That's the answer," she exclaimed, a burst of inspiration in her veins.

_What Eijirou intended to do... why he would give Izuku knives, and open his door... I can see it now...._

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_Why did Eijirou approach Izuku?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_>SUICIDE : I got it.<_

"Eijirou had been planning to commit suicide all along," Yaomomo declared.

"Eh? Suicide?!" Denki yelped.

"Everything Eijirou did, from breaking into Shouto's room, picking Izuku's lock when he failed to get the keys, getting knives from the kitchen... it was all in an elaborate plan to commit suicide!" Yaomomo declared.

"S-Suicide? Why would he involve me..?" Izuku's voice was hushed, haunted, hollow.

"Ah... it does make sense," Mirio said. "Eijirou wanted to open Izuku's door, give him knives, and let Izuku kill him."

"G-Guys... please wa-" Izuku's soft protests were ignored.

"If that's the case, then why did Eijirou even try to enter my dorm?" Shouto retorted. "Why didn't he just lockpick from the start?"

"I don't think Eijirou ever considered lockpicking until after he failed to get the key," Yaomomo said. "He would've used the key to be faster, and afterwards Izuku would take it upon returning to his room, so it would be harder to tell. However, because he improvised and picked the lock, he left behind the paperclip by mistake."

"So, Eijirou had to improvise... even if he had gotten the key, his plan was kind of bad," Hitoshi murmured. "He must've planned for Izuku to pursue him downstairs and kill him swiftly in the hall. Except Izuku must've been faster than he anticipated, and he got attacked upstairs, leaving that blood stain. Second, Izuku also slashed the stairs, leaving even more unwanted proof."

"G-Guys... why are you-" Izuku tried to speak again, only to be run over once more.

"Eijirou's plan hinged on secrecy, and a bunch of unrealistic independent variables," Mezou muttered. "It's no wonder it failed so poorly. People saw him retrieving his weight, and the knives... that was the first mistake. The second was expecting an ill Izuku to show such control."

"M-Mezou-" Izuku spluttered.

"But his failure became our success," Yaomomo finished. "We should now go over the case again, one last ti-"

_"Wait! Yaomomo!"_

She looked up, turning to meet Shouto's gaze. "What?"

"You're missing something. Something didn't add up, and I knew it; with what Hitoshi and Mezou said, I realized what it was." Shouto's eyes were even, his voice steady. _Looks like he got himself together, except he's still on the wrong side._

"Well? What's your groundbreaking evidence, Shouto?" Yaomomo prompted.

"My evidence... I'll show you! And after I do... it'll be clear why Izuku can't be the killer!" Shouto declared.

"Sh-Shouto..." Izuku's eyes were wide and filled with tears. "Shouto, wait-"

"Izuku, it'll be okay, just you see!" The Theorist's eyes softened as he turned to the jadette, a smile tugging at his lips. He returned his gaze to Yaomomo, and in a blink he was a boy of ice once more. "I'm going to show you the truth, Miss Detective!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Shouto's Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1<_

"Yaomomo, I believe..." <> (A) (A) (A)

"...that you've overlooked an important piece of evidence." <> (W) (W) (A) (W) (W) (A - Hold)

"It's about Izuku's physical state before contracting Despair Sickness." <> (D) (D) (S) (D) (D) (S - Hold)

"He was ill and weakened. You saw that yourself." <> (W-A-S-D)

"There's no way he could've attacked Eijirou like that!" <> (A) (A) (A) (D) (D) (A)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

"Yaomomo, can't you see my logic?" <> (W) (A) (S) (D)

"Izuku was sick!" <> (D) (A) (W)

"He couldn't have chased and attacked Eijirou..." <> (D) (S) (A) (W) (W - Hold)

"And besides, even if adrenaline and Despair Sickness contributed..." <> (W) (W) (A) (S) (S) (D)

"It wouldn't explain the set up after Eijirou died." <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

_>You can't see anything... anything at all!<_

"Why do you keep insisting?" <> (W) (W) (A - Hold)

"I've given you so much evidence..." <> (W) (A) (S) (D)

"You can't just throw it down the drain!" <> (W) (A) (D) (S)

"Listen to me, Yaomomo." (A) (A) (D - Hold)

"Izuku would never kill..." (W) (W) (S - Hold)

"Not even under the influence of Wrath..." (S) (D) (A) (W)

"There must've been a part of him in there..." <> (W-A-S-D)

"...under the wrath..." (W) (W) (A - Hold)

"He wouldn't have killed Eijirou!" (W) (A) (S) (D) (D - Hold)

_>Final Blow!<_

_>W = Dote_  
_A = Mono_  
_S = Kuma's_  
_D = Anti<_

"Izuku had been ill, even before the Despair Sickness! How could he have set up the body afterwards?"

_"This is why."_

_>A-S-D-W : MonoKuma'sAntiDote : Break!<_

"If Izuku's weakness prior to the Despair Sickness had been an illness, then Monokuma Antidote would've treated it as well." Yaomomo's eyes met Shouto's wide, blue and gray ones.

"What do you mean?" he murmured.

"Monokuma. You released your Antidote in the form of a gas through the vents, didn't you? It's the most logical way to cover every single ill person, no matter where they were in the building."

"Ooh, how smart! You're absolutely right!" Monokuma grinned. "My special antidote can cure any illness, including Despair Sickness! I evaporated it and released it into the ventilation system, as soon as Eijirou bit the dust. It sure worked well."

"See? It was released throughout the whole building, the exact moment Eijirou was killed. Therefore, Izuku would've been cured of both Despair Sickness and whatever illness was making him so weak previously. He would've regained his strength, and would've easily set up the body," Yaomomo explained.

"But what about before that, while he was chasing Eijirou downstairs?" Tsuyu asked.

"He must've been powered by his Wrath illness. Remember what happened when Shouto himself tried staying in the same room as Izuku?" Yaomomo prompted. "He attacked him. He was strong and sturdy, too, according to what he told us afterwards. It's not a stretch to think Izuku would attack Eijirou."

"B-But... to think Izuku would set up the body after he was cured of Despair Sickness would mean he was conscious of what he was doing and what he had done. Are you sure he would do that?" Shouto challenged.

"Yeah."

"I-Izuku?" Shouto whipped around, not having expected the second Ultimate Hope to say such a thing. "Izuku, what are you saying?"

"Give it up, Shouto. It's okay. I'll admit it." Izuku's gaze was shadowed. He looked up to meet his boyfriend's gaze, tears streaming down his face. "It's true. I killed Eijirou. I was cured of Despair Sickness when Monokuma released the antidote, and I set up the body afterwards."

"Izuku..!" Mirio's eyes were wide. Everyone in the trial room was gawking at him, at the formerly hopeful boy, at someone who'd been their friend the whole time.

At someone who'd ended up killing their classmate in such a despairfully hopeless way.

"Izuku... why are you..?" Shouto's eyes were disbelieving, alight with crystal tears.

"I told you, it's okay. I wasn't going to admit it at first, actually... I don't want to die. I want to keep saving people." Izuku smiled sadly, tears still falling. "But then I saw you jump to defend me, even though you knew Yaomomo was right... is that right?"

"I-Izuku-"

"Tell me, did you really think that with so much evidence stacked against me, I still wasn't the culprit?" Izuku's voice was insistent.

"I..."

"Tell me." His voice softened, his green eyes hardening. "Or I won't know if you're an idiot or a coward."

"Izuku..." Shouto stared at the shorter Ultimate with tears falling down his face. The trial room was silent. Yaomomo could feel the tension in the air.

"I... yes. Yes, I knew you were the killer, I knew nobody else could've been it, not when everything pointed at you." Shouto's voice broke, his gaze dropping to the floor. "But that didn't mean I wanted to admit it. I didn't want to think you would..."

"Haha... so you were just scared." Izuku's voice was sad, his green eyes boring into Shouto's. "I didn't want to see you waste yourself on trying to fight something you couldn't win against... so I decided, _maybe I'll just let everyone know._ Get it over with. Right, Yaomomo?"

"...Sure." Yaomomo was taken by surprise as the ex-hero turned to her. "You want me to go over the case again, right?"

Izuku nodded in reply. Shouto was silent, his eyes lowered and shadowed. _He's not going to fight it._

Yaomomo took a deep breath. "In that case... here's the entire story, one last time."

_For Izuku._

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

"At around midnight, Eijirou entered the ventilation system and broke down the vent barricade in the culprit's dormitory with a weight from the gym. Shouto was staying in this room, since he and the culprit had swapped rooms a few days prior, when the culprit contracted Despair Sickness.

"Also, Eijirou had a copy of the map of the vents that the Big Three had found. How Eijirou obtained this copy is up for debate; it's just known that he _had_ the copy, and likely used it to reach this room.

"Anyway, due to the loud crashing noise from the wood barricade breaking, Shouto woke up. He got up to investigate the sound upon seeing the damage. Eijirou crept back in the vent and hid around the corner with the weight in hand.

"Shouto didn't see Eijirou. Instead, unnerved, he propped the barricade back up and left the room with a few possessions: his pillow, a blanket, and a pair of keys. One of the keys was to Shouto's own dorm, where the culprit was, and the other was to the culprit's dorm, from which Shouto was leaving. He stayed at Mirio's dorm for the night.

"Eijirou broke down the barricade again once Shouto left. He entered the room and ransacked it in his hasty search for a certain item: Shouto's dorm key, in order to open the door and approach the ill culprit. Because Shouto had taken the key with him, Eijirou was distraught to find that the item was gone.

"Undeterred, Eijirou had to come up with another way to enter the room he wanted to. He decided to pick the lock instead. Eijirou left Shouto's room through the vents, went to the culprit's room, and picked the lock open with a paperclip.

"Eijirou entered the ill culprit's room, confronted and provoked them, and dropped a pair of knives he'd taken from the kitchen on the floor for them. He then booked it out of the dorm and ran, hurrying to get downstairs to the fifth floor. However, the culprit was faster than Eijirou expected.

"With the knives in hand, the culprit was hot in pursuit. They managed to jump Eijirou on the sixth floor, stabbing him once in the back and possibly slashing his arm. Eijirou managed to get free and continued running downstairs. The culprit followed, still holding the bloody knives and running on all fours. They slashed the carpet on the stairs in the process, likely tumbling down partially.

"Eijirou stopped in the middle of the hallway on the fifth floor. Why would he stop? Because this was his plan all along: to commit suicide via allowing the culprit to murder him in a Wrath-fueled bloodbath.

"The culprit attacked Eijirou. If they hadn't already, they slashed his arm with one of the blades and stabbed him repeatedly in the abdomen. They also ripped out of his eyes with their bare hands. Eijirou died swiftly, just as he'd hoped.

"As per Monokuma's promise, an antidote for the Despair Sickness was released in the form of a gas through the vents. This antidote was special, though; it would cure all illnesses, including the Despair Sickness, but not limited to. Therefore, as soon as the culprit delivered the fatal blow, they would be in the process of recovering swiftly from the Despair Sickness... but also from a mysterious illness they had prior to contracting that, an illness that physically weakened them. They would regain their strength, which is crucial to the next part of the case.

"When the culprit came to, they realized that they had killed someone under the influence of Despair Sickness. Likely realizing what this meant, they decided to set up the body further. The culprit took the smaller of the two knives and stabbed it through the torn-out eyeball. They then went into the nearest dorm -room 1-A- and borrowed the cabinet from the common area.

"They used the cabinet as a stepladder and reached the ceiling, ripping off a tile to expose the wires behind it. They hung Eijirou up, using the wires as makeshift rope. Some of the wires must've frayed or ripped in their work loosening them enough to hang the body up, because there were some light burns on Eijirou's neck, where the wires contacted his skin.

"The killer left the eyeball, endorned with the smaller knife, on the floor, under the hanging body. They returned the cabinet to the common area of 1-A, without realizing they'd put it in backwards. They also left the ceiling tile in a nearby storage closet, obviously nervous and in a haste to get away from the scene. To tie it all up, they buried the second knife, still covered in blood, in a potted plant by the stairs on their way up.

"And the culprit of this case... the killer behind this murder... was the one and only Izuku Midoriya, the Ultimate Hope."

_>Break!<_

Izuku chuckled softly. "Haha... you're absolutely right, Yaomomo. I killed Eijirou, just as you described."

"Izuku... how could you just... admit to all this?" Shouto's voice was hushed, his eyes wide.

"Because it's the only thing I can do." Izuku's eyes were soft, his voice low and sad. Forlorn. Tears still tracked his cheeks. "I messed everything else up so badly that this was my only option left. Now, can we please get the voting over with?"

As per Izuku's request, everyone was silent as they cast their votes, pointing their red levers at him like guns. Once everyone had submitted their votes, Monokuma got up and approached the slots machine that determined their vote.

All three little images landed on Izuku. The machine lit up in a frenzy of lights and music and bells. Coins spilled from the rewards slot. _We were right._

"Puhuhu! Three in a row now!" Monokuma grinned and walked back up to his golden throne, accompanying Dabi atop it.

_>Class Trial : End<_

"You were right again this time! Izuku Midoriya, the Ultimate Hope himself, was the blackened!" Monokuma declared all-too cheerfully.

"We're always right... but sometimes, I don't want it to be that way," Mei murmured.

"Izuku... so it really was you." Tsuyu's voice was hollow as she said those words.

"Of course. Izuku admitted to it earlier himself," Mezou said, emotionless, his arms crossed and eyes lowered.

"It all really does feel more real when the vote confirms it though..." Hitoshi was holding his hands together and rubbing his fingers against each other, as if to comfort himself.

"Why..? Izuku, why didn't you fight it? The Sickness, I mean. _Could_ you fight it?" Mirio seemed shocked and heartbroken as he stared at his friend.

"Izuku couldn't fight it! That's why he killed Eijirou!" Shouto declared. "Right, Izuku?"

The freckled boy was silent for a moment before choosing to speak, tears dripping from his face. His words were quiet, but clear and fragile as glass. "No, Shouto... you're wrong again. It's been happening quite a lot recently, isn't it?" He let out a choked laugh.

"Hm? Wh- What do you mean..?" Shouto took a step back, as if struck by a knife.

"Izuku... did you really kill Eijirou... on purpose?" Denki was in shock.

"Well... When I was pursuing Eijirou, when I was on the floor over him and stabbing him in the stomach... I think a part of me knew what I was doing. But I let it happen." Izuku's voice was steady as he spoke, his teary jade eyes fixed on Shouto, as if challenging him to say otherwise. Of course, he didn't.

The trial room was, surprisingly, quiet. Nobody dared speak as they absorbed what Izuku had said.

Shouto was the one to break that quiet.

"Why did it have to turn out like this..?" he murmured, his voice breaking. Tears welled over his eyes; his gaze was shadowed as he pursed his lips. He looked like he was ready to break down and sob on the floor like a baby.

"I'm... sorry, Shouto." Izuku lowered his own eyes, refusing to find his lover's. "I know you wanted a happy ending for us... and I'm sorry I couldn't give that to you. It's all my fault. You don't deserve me, or the mess that I've created-"

"Izuku, don't say it like that!" Shouto cried, his voice cracking. Tears ran down his face. Yaomomo couldn't think of a time she'd ever seen the stoic boy shed a single tear, much less cry like the world were collapsing. "None of this is your fault..!" He took a tentative step forwards, towards Izuku, hesitating for just the slightest moment. "Please don't blame yourself... if you did that, I... I don't know what I would do."

"But that's the truth," the jadette stubbornly insisted. "It _is_ my fault that I killed Eijirou. I could've controlled myself, I know that... but I let myself kill him anyway. Because I realized, _'If I kill this boy, I could get the antidote. The curse would be lifted, and if I succeed in the trial, my mother would be freed'._ From the bottom of my heart, that's the truth."

"Izuku, please..." Shouto was openly weeping now. He stumbled towards Izuku and closed the gap, wrapping his arms tightly around him, his head resting on the green-eyed boy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Shouto... and please don't look at me like that... I don't think I can take seeing your eyes so sad again." Izuku murmured with a small smile, crying silently as he reciprocated the hug, nose pressed against the side of Shouto's neck. The taller was sobbing now, jewel-like tears dripping down his face in an icy waterfall.

The crowd was silent, spare for Shouto's crying and Izuku's gentle murmurs in an attempt to comfort him.

"C-Curse?" Nejire suddenly whispered, just loud enough for the entire room to hear. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Izuku didn't respond, preoccupied with comforting Shouto. Yaomomo doubted he'd even heard her. Much to everyone's surprise, it was Tsuyu who answered.

"Do you remember the USJ attack, back when we were all still heroes?" the frog-girl prompted.

"Of course," Denki murmured. "It was the first time we met the villains..."

"Well, recall that the League of Villains only consisted of a few people back then," Tsuyu continued. "It was just Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Nomu, and that girl, the one who called herself Dancing Death, right?"

"Yeah," Tooru murmured. "She was rather scary... just the look in her eyes was enough to scare the daylights out of me."

"And speaking of which, if I could just interrupt for a moment-" Mashirao looked to Tsuyu, who simply nodded, "-none of us have seen Dancing Death since USJ, not even during the attack on the dorms. What happened to her?" Mashirao turned to Dabi and Monokuma, who were still both sitting atop the throne.

"She's helping out with some of our operations in the cities," Dabi replied lazily. "We didn't need the entirety of the League working on the Killing Game, and she wanted to work in society rather than out, anyway."

"Seems legit," Mezou muttered.

"Well, anyway, the League recruited a ton of minor villains and criminals for the attack, right?" Tsuyu continued. "During the battle, when Izuku, Mineta -if anyone remembers him-, and I were fleeing the Lake Zone, we were attacked by a surprisingly strong minor villain. He called himself the King of Dice, or something like that."

"The King of Dice? I've never heard of such a villain," Mirio commented quietly.

"Makes sense, since he's apparently a minor criminal," Tsuyu replied, her voice low. "However, he had a rather strong quirk: he could cast a curse or a blessing on someone, the contents of which are determined by him. We dueled for a while; it was three on one, but he was surprisingly quick and agile, taunting us and then dodging away, trying to tire us out.

"He cast a curse on Izuku; a death curse, to be exact. His quirk was activated when he touched someone; that would determine a target. He stepped back after grabbing Izuku's arm and cast the curse. He said, _'I curse you to die within the next five calendar years.' "_

"He set Izuku to _die?!"_ Mei cried.

"If he set it as five years, it must've been bad luck that the curse took effect within only one," Tamaki murmured.

"Guys, come on, let's keep hearing Tsuyu's story!" Denki cried. The room fell silent.

"Of course, the downside of his quirk was that he would faint immediately after the curse was finished being cast," Tsuyu continued once again, with a nod of thanks to Denki. "We were confused at the time, and more focused on getting to All Might, so we didn't think much of it. I think it was only after that Izuku realized what that meant," she finished. "That's the story of the curse."

"He only told me, and a few other people," Shouto suddenly said. His voice was small and meek, all of the energy drained out of him. He and Izuku had let go of each other, but Izuku was still holding both of Shouto's hands, likely for the last time in his life.

"When I started to get weaker, after we were locked in here, I realized that I was dying, and that the curse had been real," Izuku said. "So when the antidote motive was presented, I wasn't sure what to do... I didn't want to kill anyone, but I didn't want to die, either. So when I got Despair Sickness, and Eijirou entered my room and handed two knives to me, I took the chance. But now I'm going to end up dying anyway."

"Yyyyyyou're right!" Monokuma suddenly screeched. Everyone jumped, obviously not having expected such an outburst. Izuku sighed and removed his hands from Shouto's. "Sorry to break into this lovey dovey stuff, but it's time to get some action in here again!"

"A-Action..?" Denki whispered.

"That's right! It's Punishment Time!" Monokuma smiled, his pearly whites glittering in the light of the chandelier.

"Punishment... Time?" Shouto's eyes widened. "No! You can't- you can't execute Izuku! Not after what he just went through, after he sacrificed so much to get rid of the curse..!"

"Puhuhu! Sorry! Rules are rules!~" Monokuma didn't look very apologetic, as per usual.

"Izuku..! I..." Shouto turned back to his boyfriend, as if wondering what to say to him, what his final words should be.

"Now then, I have prepared a very special Punishment..." Monokuma began slowly, relishing in the storm of emotions running rampant through the trial room.

"It's okay, Shouto. You don't have to forgive me. I was selfish and let despair overcome me..." Izuku laughed softly, the waterworks starting up again.

"...for the Ultimate Hope, Izuku Midoriya..!"

"Ultimate Hope..? Ha. More like Ultimate Despair," Izuku chuckled sadly, his eyes lowered to the ground.

"Izuku, no!" Shouto stepped forward and grabbed Izuku tightly, clutching him tight to his chest. The red and white haired boy cupped Izuku's cheek with his hand and lifted his head, kissing him on the lips. Izuku was frozen, startled by the sudden initiation.

Shouto pulled back as quickly as he'd began. Their eyes met; Izuku's wide, Shouto's brimmed with tears. The latter was crying again, his words riddled with sobs as his breath hitched.

"Are you ready?" Monokuma began.

Shouto's eyes were alight with panic at Monokuma's ever-moving conclusion, which was to lead to the execution. He let go of Izuku's face, instead wrapping his arms around him. Izuku stayed limp, allowing the taller boy to hold him. "I- I love you, Izu- Izuku... n-no matter what..."

"Iiiiit's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

"...you were always my hope."

_>GAME OVER_

_Izuku Midoriya has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

Izuku was dropped in the middle of a cityscape. Buildings of various shapes and sizes towered around him. A network of streets spiderwebbed the execution field. At the edges of the environment were tall stone walls. The sky was a mere artificial hologram; flickering, orange and red lights and mirages, designed to simulate a sunset.

He was trapped.

For a breath's pause, nothing happened. A synthetic breeze ruffled Izuku's hair. His eyes were alert, scanning the environment, waiting for something to pop out at him. _What's this execution supposed to be..?_ Yaomomo wondered. Beside her, Shouto was trembling, perhaps even hoping Izuku would make it out of the execution alive.

A false hope that would prove to be, indeed.

A young, feminine voice could be heard, echoing off of the chamber walls and carried by the wind.

"Izukuuuu~! Ready or not, here I come!"

_Toga._

Izuku immediately realized what was going on. Turning a full circle in place, he considered his options before hastily entering a nearby office building.

All of the lights were off, but the elevator display panel on one wall was still alight. When Izuku pressed the _open_ button, the metal doors slid open, sure as day. He jumped inside and shut the doors, before directing the elevator to go up, all the way to the roof.

_Of course,_ Yaomomo thought. _He could hide on the roof, and while he's in the elevator Toga can't get at him. Clever._

But of course, this was an execution, not a hero class drill of get-away. The elevator halted at floor five. It was stuck. Panic evident on his face, Izuku repeatedly pressed the _open_ button a few times. Nothing happened. Aside from the fact the elevator lights were still on, it was obvious the elevator was jammed.

Seeing no other way to get out, Izuku began to pry open the elevator doors by hand. It took a minute, but he managed to force the metal slides open just enough to step out. His fingers were rubbed raw and red from the effort, but he succeeded nonetheless.

Izuku was standing in the middle of a dark hallway. The lights were off; the only dim lighting came from the windows at either end of the hallway. A sign on one end also noted that there was a staircase. Izuku began making his way towards the sign, walking briskly, when suddenly, a voice sounded from the other end of the hall.

"Izukuuuuu~ Why are you running?"

Izuku didn't even need to turn around to see who it was; who else could it be besides Toga? Instead, he bolted, running for his stairs. Toga raced after him, knives and syringe at the ready. She was wearing her villain suit, the blood storage and suctioning pack strapped to her back.

Izuku hit the stairs, whirling around the corner and bounding skywards. Toga was hot on his trail as he hit the roof. Synthetic wind whipped through his hair, stronger up near the ceiling compared to down on the street. Izuku was panting, unused to exerting so much energy since his the weak spell he'd been under the past few weeks. His head turned left and right.

He was atop of barren stone roof, the edges being slightly raised. Otherwise, there was no barrier to going off the roof onto the side of the building. He seemed to be contemplating his options when a pair of small, dangerous hands came down on his shoulders from behind. "Guess who?"

_>Izuku Midoriya's Execution: Romeo and Juliet gone wrong! : Executed!<_

Toga was clearly enjoying every moment of Izuku's execution. Meanwhile, the jadette froze, relaxing his muscles to the best of his ability in order to throw her off guard. It worked, and he leaped from the older girl, whirling around to meet his opponent face-on.

"Aww, Izuku, sweetie, why the angry face? What did I ever do to you?" Toga played the innocent girl card, smiling sweetly at him, as if they were old friends -or lovers- and she wasn't holding a syringe in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Get away, Toga. Or you know what's going to happen." Izuku was in a fighting stance. Sweat beaded on his forehead; out of exhaustion or anxiety, Yaomomo wasn't sure.

"But haven't you lost your quirk?" Toga grinned. "You can't do anything to me."

With that, she leaped at him, knife and syringe both poised to strike. Izuku dodged the knife and grabbed the syringe, his fingers closing over her hand. Due to his more muscular build, he managed to rip the syringe from her hand.

However, this meant that they were now connected by the clear plastic cord of the syringe, which ended in her blood pack. Inspired by this new development, Toga stabbed the knife at Izuku again. He held onto the syringe and ducked just in time, the blade brushing his hair as it soared over his head.

Izuku, holding onto the syringe so he and Toga were locked in close combat, kicked at her. She leaped up, the cord of the syringe lengthening to accommodate her movement. Back and forth, back and forth, the two dueled; Toga jabbing and slicing with her other syringe and knife, while Izuku kicked and punched, occasionally jabbing at _her_ with the syringe in his hand.

It must've been ten minutes. The two were still going at it. The tension was high in the viewing room, where the rest of the surviving students watched on the screen.

"He's getting weaker," Yaomomo suddenly heard Mei whisper, her voice trembling in anxious anticipation of what was about to happen.

Sure enough, when Yaomomo glanced back to the screen, Izuku was noticeably slowing down. He was trying his best, she knew that; but he had grown so accustomed to being unable to exert high amounts of energy over the past few weeks. He wasn't pacing himself; he'd given too much at the beginning, and now he was paying for that loss.

"Hehehe!" Toga giggled, her golden eyes alight. She was in shape as ever, still ready to keep fighting. _She's stronger than we expected,_ Yaomomo noted. _That girlish physique really doesn't show her strength..._ "Getting tired already, Izuku?" she taunted.

Izuku, on the other hand, was panting. Sweat poured down his face. He looked exhausted, his movements getting sluggish as he continued to dodge every blow. "Of course... not..."

"But you're getting slower," Toga pointed out. She stepped back and took a running leap at him, knowing he likely didn't have the energy to attack her back. "I guess it's time for the show to begin!"

Toga landed square on Izuku's chest, shoving him to the ground. She moved to pin him, her legs on either side of his to keep him down. "Are you ready?" she asked teasingly. "Cus things are about to get veeeeery bloody!"

Izuku made a low growling sound through his teeth. He writhed, attempting to break free, but failed to break free of the girl's grasp. He was completely at her mercy.

Toga grinned and pulled out a pair of syringes. She stabbed them, one on each side, in Izuku's wrists. They immediately went into effect; blood began to flow up the clear cord in pulses, the pink fluid making its way towards the pack on Toga's back.

"Squish, squish; squish, squish," she giggled, leaning forwards so her chest was against Izuku's and they were face to face. "Haha! I've always dreamed of this happening... and now I'm going to be the last person you see before you die!"

Yaomomo could only imagine how distraught Shouto was at the moment.

Izuku's face was pained, his eyes wide. The blood-sucking was starting to have an effect on his complexion, too. He was paling dangerously due to the swift, extreme blood loss.

"While I'd love to sit here until you turn into a dry skin bag for me to grind into makeup powder, we don't have time for that... so it's time for the grand finale!" Toga grinned, whipped out a knife, and before anyone could say a word, she plunged it into Izuku's chest.

Over and over, the blade went up and down, silver meeting red, pink geysers of blood erupting from the ever-growing number of stab wounds. Izuku cried out in agony; a horrible sound ripped from his throat.

"Shh, Izuku," Toga smiled, still stabbing holes in Izuku's body. "It'll be over soon~"

And right she was. Izuku's cries became considerably weaker, until they were mere whimpers. His eyes were shut, as if keeping them open was too energy consuming. He was dying, as surely and quickly as the blood flowing from his chest and abdomen suggested.

"Hehe... goodnight, Izuku. Sweet dreams~!" Toga stepped back, bloody knife and syringes in her hands, hanging loosely by her sides. Her clothes were stained with Izuku's blood, some of it splashing across her face. She licked at it, grinning as she relished the metallic taste. The blood pack on her back was full of the pink liquid. "I'll see you next life!"

With that, she skipped away, leaving Izuku alone to die on a stone roof, under a fake sky and fake sunset.

The camera was fixed on Izuku's body. His chest rose unevenly with tiny breaths. He was fighting to stay alive.

"G-Guys..." Izuku's voice was small, but audible. "Please... always have hope... I love you... all..."

A small smile slid over his face, and he fell still.

Izuku was dead, lying in a pool of blood. The puncture wounds wept, as if also miserable he had just been murdered, executed, _erased_ from the world for good.

Beside Yaomomo, Shouto was shaking. When she turned, she realized he was crying, a haunted expression on his face.

"Why..? How could... Izuku just- just _die..._ so easily?" His voice was shuddering as tears ran down his cheeks. A shadow fell across his gaze.

Nobody replied. Everyone was staring, stunned, at the screen. Their friend, the great hero-to-be, Izuku Midoriya... was dead.

_Never to cry again. Never to smile again, or fight again, or laugh... never to speak, or dance, or write his borderline-obsessive hero analysis ever again..._

_Never to breathe again._

"Everyone, please go back to the trial room. Monokuma has something to say." Dabi spoke up from the side of the room, standing in the shadow of the machinery in the room. The class silently turned and filed down the hall, back into the circular trialspace.

"Upupupu! Wasn't that an interesting execution?" Monokuma grinned. "Not as fast-paced as Fumikage's... but fun, nonetheless, riiight?"

Shouto was silent, his eyes fixed to the ground. Yaomomo wasn't sure if he'd ever recover from watching that execution.

"How could you be so cruel..?" Denki murmured, his eyes vacant as he gazed listlessly at the floor.

"What part of this game isn't?" Mezou suddenly said. "Friends betraying friends, despair winning over hope... every aspect of this game is crueler than reality itself."

Silence followed Mezou's words. Sensing the awkward tension in the room, Monokuma cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Ahem! While you all did fantastically in the trial today, you all missed one little secret," the rodent said mischievously. "How _did_ Eijirou get that copy of the map?"

_Why is he bringing this up now?_ Yaomomo thought. _We don't want to know anymore... it's all pointless now, right? Eijirou is dead, and so is his killer. There's nothing left to solve..._

"I said," Monokuma repeated, insistent. "How _did_ Eijirou get his map?"

"We don't know!" Mei suddenly wailed. Tears edged her eyes, and her face was red with anger. "We don't know, okay?! Why are you asking this now? After what you just did to Izuku?!"

"Calm down, miss girl genius!" Monokuma snapped. "I just wanted to tell you all something...

"Eijirou got the map of the vents from mister Mezou Shouji!"

Silence. Everyone -_except Shouto,_ Yaomomo thought, glancing at the boy out of the corner of her eye- turned to stare at Mezou, obviously snapped out of their stupor by Monokuma's prompting. Of course, not everyone was at _full_ attention, but most were coherent enough to feel blame towards the multi-armed boy.

"H-Hey! Guys, why are you all looking at me like that? I didn't kill anyone, or anything!" Mezou yelped.

"But you gave Eijirou the map," Tsuyu murmured. "If you hadn't... Eijirou might not have thought of his suicide-murder plot. And Izuku wouldn't be dead right now."

"W-Wait! Let him explain," Tamaki suddenly said. "Mezou. Why would you give Eijirou the map of the vents?"

"Well, I'll gladly explain why I did that. It was a few nights ago, the evening of the day Tsuyu attacked me in the cafeteria..."

_~*Flashback*~_

_"Eijirou. What do you want?" Mezou asked. They were standing in the gym; Mezou had been training with weights, letting out his anger at Tsuyu by destroying the room. Eijirou had walked in; Mezou had narrowly missed striking him in the head when he entered. Now, the two stood face-to-face by the hole in the wall._

_"I've been looking everywhere for you, Mezou," Eijirou replied. His eyes still held that haunted, vacant look. It would've been unnerving, had Mezou not seen much worse in this game the class played, and continued to play._

_"Why?"_ Why the hell would he be looking for me? I've done everything I can to make people get away... Dammit, Fumikage...

_"I need you to kill me." Eijirou looked Mezou dead in the eye as he said that. "Please."_

_"What?" Of all the things, Mezou had not been expecting Eijirou to say that. "What do you mean?"_

_"I mean what I said. Kill me." Eijirou continued. "I'll take you back to my room, or whatever. Kill me on my bed by pouring poison down my throat. Stab me in the chest. Bash my skull in with a weight, I don't care! Just kill me!"_

_"Dude, this is so unlike you!" Mezou grabbed Eijirou by the shoulders, overcome with sudden sympathy and warmth._ What am I doing? _"What happened to being manly and never giving up?"_

_"False hope like that would never get you anywhere. Not here. Not in this hellhole, or out in the world. All Might allowed us to hope. Heroes and heroes-to-be alike could fulfill dreams and instill hope in people." Eijirou gazed up at Mezou. "There are no heroes here. Only killers, and to-be-killeds. There is no hope left."_

_"But Eijirou- remember what happened right before All Might's last battle," Mezou insisted. "You went all out, saving Katsuki with your friends. What happened to that mentality? That 'go for the impossible, never give up, be manly' mentality?!"_

_"That was in a world of heroes and dreams and magic. This is different. This is a mere pit of death and despair and trials," Eijirou replied, stubborn. "Come on, Mezou. Just kill me."_

_Mezou paused. A dark thought flashed through his mind._ If I kill him, and get away with it... I would've lived up to Fumikage's expectation. To keep living. I don't want to die in this shithole... so why not escape?

_But the rational part of his mind knew he couldn't. Fumikage had also told him to not become like him. Fumikage didn't want Mezou to kill, unless necessary, like when Fumikage killed Kyouka to protect him._

_That was what drove him to his decision._

_"I can't kill you, Eijirou," Mezou said. "But I can give you something. A gift, of sorts."_

_"I don't want a gift," Eijirou muttered._

_"Here." Mezou ignored his protest and pulled the folded up piece of paper from his pocket. He'd been carrying it around anytime he left his dorm, careful not to let Fumikage's memoir, the item he'd entrusted to Mezou, get lost or damaged._

_"What is this..?" Eijirou took the paper, unfolded it, and stared at its contents._

_"It's a map of the vents," Mezou explained. "Remember how after his crime, Fumikage supposedly left through the vents? He didn't travel to his room by trial and error; he had this."_

_"But where'd he get it?" Eijirou prompted further. His interest was obviously piqued by the peculiar trinket._

_"He didn't tell me the specifics; just that during a recent investigation of the school, he overheard someone talking about obtaining a map of the vents from the principal's office. He snuck into their room at night through his own improvised vent route, took the map back into the vent, and copied it down on a piece of paper. He returned the map by morning," Mezou finished._

_"Are you sure this map is legit?" Eijirou asked, staring at it with wide crimson eyes._

_"Absolutely. Fumikage himself used it," Mezou replied indignantly, irritated at being doubted, at his friend being doubted._

_"Alright, then. Thanks, Mezou." With that, Eijirou turned tail and left with the map._

_~*Back to Present*~_

"That's the story of how Eijirou got the vent map. From me." Mezou stood there, cold as ever, his arms crossed.

"Why... why would you give him that?" Mirio asked, seething. "Fumikage already used it once for a murder. Why would you hand off such a dangerous item to him?!"

"He was desperate, and I thought it was an acceptable thing to give him. I expected him to do wrong with it, but wasn't he already doing that, asking me to kill him? That would've been a plot that, if it failed, would've killed me too. Even if I hadn't had the rationale that killing him would've been unethical as well, I wouldn't have done it anyway because of what it would mean for me," Mezou explained, his voice unemotional.

"Honestly, it's sorta surprising Mezou here is talking about good life decisions based off of ethicality," Denki mumbled.

"What was that?" The ex-hero in question's head snapped up.

"Um! Nothing!"

Yaomomo stood there, unmoving. _So Fumikage's map ended up having a huge role in Eijirou's plan. If he didn't have a ready map of the vents, he likely wouldn't have thought to go through the vents and break into Shouto's bedroom to get the keys... without that idea, he wouldn't have thought to even break into Izuku's place._

_Why is it... that even after that Assassin is dead... he can still manage to kill people?_

"See? That's the story you were all missing out on!" Monokuma grinned. "With that out of the way... it's time to head back up! Everyone, get in the elevator!"

The class filed onto the bronze elevator silently, not a word to be exchanged. The doors closed, shutting them in, and moved upwards. _Just like in Izuku's execution._

Except this time, the elevator didn't jam. And the killer wasn't outside of the elevator; this time, they were inside.

_Well, soon-to-be killers, at least._

_And soon to be victims._

_How many more times will we have to go through this? How many more trials, and deaths..? How many more classmates do we have to uncover the terrible truth about, only to sentence them to death?_

_Sometimes..._

_...I wish someone were watching..._

_...so that they could come fly us out of this hellscape._

_>Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood : The End | Surviving Students : 12 | To be Continued<_

_>Item Obtained: Used Map of the Vents<_


	32. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 1 - Daily Life

Tsuyu awoke to her doorbell ringing.

_I have a doorbell?_ she mused, rolling out of bed. _I didn't realize..._

She put on a pair of slippers and went to get the door. Behind her, she could sense Eijirou's eyeless spirit hovering by the bathroom. Shadows swam on her walls, as if the room were lit by candles and the corpses were having a dance. The frog jar on her desk seemed to bear mania in its eyes and bloodlust in its grin.

"Hello?" Tsuyu opened the door just in time to run into Nejire, who had her hand raised and poised to knock, as evident by her loose fist. The Beauty Pageant's other hand clutched two small papers.

"Ah, Tsu! Are you a psychic? 'Cus I was just about to knock..." Nejire chuckled and handed Tsuyu a note. Tsuyu unfolded it and read it.

_'Please gather in the cafeteria! ~Mirio'_

"I'm helping him pass out these things. I'm almost done. Do you wanna walk with me downstairs? Or do you have to wash up first?" The girl was bright and peppy as ever.

"I'll just brush my hair and put on some shoes. You can go if you want; I'll catch up," she offered.

"Okay~! I'll see you in a minute!" And with that, Nejire was gone.

Tsuyu did as she said; she grabbed a comb and brushed through her dull green locks, sitting at her desk, her eyes scanning the room. The shadows were gone; the corpses were evidently done having their party. Eijirou was still sitting by the bathroom, his right socket weeping blood, his left eye closed. He was dozing.

Ochako had popped up while Tsuyu was occupied with Nejire; the brunette sat at the foot of the bed, staring listlessly at the frog girl with a haunted gaze while whispering. Tsuyu couldn't make out the words, but she could hear smidgens of Ochako's soft, gentle voice, like a leaf in the wind. Tsuyu picked up the green ribbon from the desk and put on her boots. She left her room, not giving a second glance at the ghosts. As soon as the door shut, the whispering abruptly stopped.

She stepped into the hallway and turned to the right to see Nejire bouncing out of room 1-K, where Yaomomo resided. Tsuyu went up to the taller girl and accompanied her downstairs. They peered into the cafeteria through the doorway. It was empty. "Mirio and Tamaki are still handing out notes on the fifth floor. They have more notes to hand out than me, and Tamaki's only following him," Nejire explained. "Let's get something from the kitchen."

It had been two days since the trial, the case where Eijirou was killed and Izuku was executed. Since then the two boys had joined the ranks of the spirits Tsuyu would glimpse throughout the day. As the girls walked into the kitchen, Tsuyu spotted Izuku standing stiffly by the doorway, staring blankly ahead with lifeless jade eyes. His mouth was open; blood dripped from it, as well as from his ears. "Hey, Nejire," Tsuyu said, unnerved by Izuku's presence. They were fetching cereal from the cupboard in the back. "Do you think we should do anything about him?"

"What? Who?" Nejire's eyes widened, and she whirled around, immediately on edge.

"Izuku."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Now the bluette was visibly confused, her guard lowering.

"Right there, by the door." Tsuyu pointed at him. He was in the same position. The blood was still running.

"There's nothing there, Tsu. You must be hallucinating, or something. Maybe you didn't get enough sleep," Nejire suggested. She turned back to the cupboard, finding and grabbing the box of cereal.

Tsuyu blinked, staring at Izuku. He was clearly there. _Look, the blood's dripping on the floor now..._ But she shrugged off Nejire's blind eye, and instead decided to just eat breakfast with her upperclassman.

~~~

"Good morning everyone," Mirio greeted formally.

"..." Of course, nobody responded. The remaining survivors -except for Mezou- were all gathered in the cafeteria. Everyone was silent. Tsuyu sat near the head of the table, by Nejire and across from Tamaki. Mirio was the only one standing this time.

Mirio sighed and put his hands down on the table, leaning forward. "Guys, I know it's been rough. Eijirou was killed, and Izuku... Izuku was executed. But we have to move on! How would we be honoring their memories if we stayed hung up on them for forever?"

_I don't think they mind,_ Tsuyu decided, glancing towards the side of the room. Eijirou was sleeping, hanging from the ceiling by a single wire tied around his neck, and Izuku had followed her and was facing the wall now, still standing stiffly. Tsuyu could tell the blood was still running. She shuddered and returned her gaze to Mirio, trying to ground her rampant mind.

"What would Eijirou and Izuku want us to do?" Mirio continued. "They would want us to move on and get out of here, for their sakes. Remember what Izuku's last words were? He wanted us to have hope. What would he think if he saw us despairing despite his dying wish?"

_He'd stand there and drip blood from his face,_ Tsuyu thought, shuddering.

"I agree with him."

"Eh?! Shouto?" Nejire looked up, surprised by _him_ speaking out, of all people.

Tsuyu observed the scene. Shouto had gotten up from his chair, but his gaze was lowered. "It's just as Mirio said. Izuku..." his voice faltered. "Izuku wanted us to move on. And Eijirou wanted death. Both of them should get what they want, or else it'll all be meaningless. Who would want that to happen?"

The class was stunned, staring at the heterochronous boy. Tsuyu would've expected him to grieve longer, considering Izuku was his boyfriend and that he'd been completely shattered for the past two days, unresponsive to everything, including Tsuyu knocking on the door- which she'd done because she thought she heard Izuku's voice saying something to her in her bathroom.

Then Denki spoke. "Shouto's right. If we can't do anything else, we should at least fulfil Izuku's dying wish."

Murmurs spread through the table. People seemed to be agreeing.

"So we agree? We should move on and continue our escape plan?" Mirio spoke up. Everyone nodded, a flame relit in their hearts, it seemed. Tsuyu looked up to see that Izuku and Eijirou had both vanished. However, now there were needles all over the floor. _That's better than the ghosts, at least,_ Tsuyu thought, relieved they were gone.

"Our escape plan?" Tooru echoed.

"Yeah! I'm almost done with the device, actually. I just have to run a few more tests, and it'll all be good," Mei piped up. "I lost motivation yesterday... I'll try to finish up today!"

"And we should continue our investigation from way back, before Kyouka died," Yaomomo said, her voice unemotional even as she said her dead friend's name.

"Oh yeah, speaking of that..." Mashirao got up and regarded Mirio. "First and foremost, we should get rid of the vent map."

"I agree with him," Shouto added. "It's been used in two cases already. We can't let this go on."

"Umm... that's fair enough," Tamaki stammered. "I sort of agree... it's caused too much death."

"I suppose," Mirio murmured. "It can't hurt to be too careful."

"Mirio! Can you go get the map from your room?" Nejire piped up. "It looks like everyone has decided!"

"Actually... I have it right here, in my pocket." Mirio pulled out a large, folded-up piece of graph paper. He unfolded it to reveal the original copy of the vent map. It was color-coded and appeared to be printed, just as described.

"Perfect! Let's destroy it immediately!" Mei declared. "...wait. How are we going to destroy it?"

"It has to be permanent," Yaomomo stated. "And ripping it up won't do. Someone could piece it back together."

"Isn't it obvious? We should burn it!" Tooru suddenly suggested.

_Burn it... with fire..._

_Fire... like the fire that burned the library..?_

_Like the fire I watched dance before my eyes in the vent..?_

"Err... Tsuyu, are you okay..?" She looked up to see Nejire. "You're shaking..."

She hadn't even realized she was shaking until her upperclassman pointed it out. The world suddenly became very overwhelming; her classmates voicing their concerns were too loud, their words reverberating in her skull. The smell of the cafeteria, its warm, ramen scent, was suddenly bitter with smoke and the odor of burning rubber. The lights were too bright. The air was too thick. _It's too much, it's too much, it's all too much-_

"I think mentioning... burning... might've triggered something in her memory. The library, and Yuga..." Tamaki lowered his voice, but Tsuyu heard it anyway. The mention of the event made everything in her senses increase twicefold again. She lowered her head to her arms, but as she stared at the floor, all she could see was the blood-covered needle tips pointing up at her.

"We're going to have to do it to the map anyway," Yaomomo spoke up. She actually seemed genuinely concerned for Tsuyu. "She shouldn't watch. Someone should stay outside with her."

"I'll stick with her," Nejire volunteered. "C'mon, Tsu. Um, can I touch you? Can we walk outside, into the hallway?"

Tsuyu lifted her head, her gaze blank as she looked up at Nejire. She was afraid that being touched would amplify her senses again, and it was already too much at the moment. "I'm fine... I'll walk..." she mumbled.

She carefully turned and set her feet on the ground, wincing as tiny pinpricks of pain shot through her feet as she stepped on the needles. She gingerly staggered away, towards the door, Nejire walking at her side. She could practically feel everyone's eyes fixed on her.

_Why can't I just be normal..? Take the Killing Game and whatever it throws at me..?_

_Why am I so... not normal?_

_Why can't I just be like Mashirao, or Hitoshi, or Tooru, or Shouto?_

_And the ghosts..._

_...why do they keep following me?_

***

Shouto watched as Tsuyu stumbled out of the doorway with Nejire beside her. "Oh dear... I hope she'll be okay," Tooru murmured. "I should apologize later. I didn't think mentioning burning the map would be that bad."

"Poor Tsu... the trauma Yuga gave her, dragging her through the vents like that... I thought she'd gotten better, but I guess mentioning fire sort of set her off," Yaomomo decided.

"Let's just get this done with and then not mention it again," Hitoshi suggested. "Try not to mention anything along the lines of fire or burning around her."

"That's fine by me," Mei sighed. "But anyway, where are we going to dispose of the map?"

"The kitchen," Denki immediately said. "Put it on the stove in a pot, or something. Turn the heat up, coat it in alcohol, and it'll go up."

"That's a good idea. Come on, guys, let's go." Mirio turned and began to walk out the door. The rest of the class followed.

When Shouto stepped out into the hallway, Tsuyu and Nejire were both gone. _I guess Nejire took her downstairs, or into a room, or something._

_But if Tsuyu doesn't get better... well, anyone could guess what could happen to her._

"Alright, where's the alcohol? White wine would do, right?" Mirio asked.

"Yeah. I got it," Hitoshi instantly replied, since he was standing next to the pantry. He peered inside, rummaged around, and pulled out a glass bottle of, presumably, wine. "Here you go."

Mirio took the wine, took out a pan, and turned up the heat. A flame was ignited below the metal grid. He set the map in the pan and poured... probably a bit _too_ much alcohol into the pan. He stepped back, staring at the pan and wine-soaked map. All was silent for a moment.

Then the map burst into a column of red flames.

"Ahh!" Denki, who'd been standing next to it, jumped back into Shouto. "Eek, sorry Shouto!"

"It's fine." Shouto was staring at the burning map, staring in wonder at the brilliant crimson flames. _It's... beautiful, in a twisted sort of way._

The flames seemed to dance for what felt like an eternity, while everyone watched on. Finally, when all the alcohol coating the map was gone, the fire leapt to the paper like a pack of wolves upon its prey. Shouto watched as the blaze ate up the paper, burning it to a crisp, before finding itself starved of substance and fading.

The fire flickered out as abruptly as it began. Now, all that was left in the metal pan were the burnt crisp remains of the vent map. "Well... I guess that's it, then," Tamaki murmured. "It's gone for good now."

_One less murder tool in our possession..._

_...but will it really make a difference?_


	33. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 2 - Daily Life

"...she once stole sushi from the table, actually," Mashirao said to Hitoshi.

The violette chuckled in return. "That's cute. Does she know any tricks?"

The entire class -even Mezou, since Mirio managed to convince him to come- had gathered in the dining hall the following morning to have breakfast. They were finished eating by now; some people left, but most stayed to chat and socialize. Mashirao was telling Hitoshi about his cat, Yuki. Around them, the light chatter of the other students was like idle background ambience.

"Hmm... a few," the tailed ex-hero replied. "She can give a high five, she can meow on command, she can sit, leap through a hoop... I was going to teach her how to give me her paw, and then shake it, but we had to move to the dorms, then."

Hitoshi was about to respond when a beep from the monitor above caught his attention. The entire cafeteria hushed as everyone turned to look up at the screen.

Monokuma's face appeared on the monitor. "Ahem! Everyone, please gather in the auditorium immediately! If you don't go, well... I'll just drag you there, so don't bother resisting! See you soon! Upupupu..." It then flickered to black.

Hitoshi considered the bear's words for a moment. _What does he want now? A new motive announcement? Or some other thing, like a new rule?_

"I guess we'll have to go," Tamaki muttered. He was already getting up.

"Yeah." The students got up and filed out of the room and down the stairs. They entered the auditorium on the ground floor, as instructed. Mezou was already there, as usual. A few moments after the cafeteria group arrived, Mei and Tooru walked through the door, completing the roster of students.

"So, what did Monokuma want, getting us all down here?" Nejire asked to nobody in particular.

"Your attention, of course!" As if on cue, the black and white rodent leaped up behind the podium, bouncing atop the wooden block with a skip in his step. "Hello, dear students!"

"Yeah, like you care about us that much," Denki muttered.

"Aww, how rude... I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that!" Monokuma giggled, his red eye flashing.

"Cut to the chase. Why did you gather us?" Mirio demanded.

"Okay, okay, already! I gathered you all to tell you something..." Monokuma grinned, his pearly white teeth reflecting the lights of the auditorium.

"There is a traitor among you!"

Silence followed his words. Hitoshi felt his breath catch in his throat. _A traitor? A villain, secretly hiding in our ranks?_

"A... traitor? What's that supposed to mean?!" Tooru's voice snapped the tension in the room.

"It means, one of you is a spy from the League of Villains!" Monokuma declared. "And they could very well be plotting a murder, right this second!"

A ripple of unease spread through the students. _No... no, it's probably just a lie, and Monokuma's trying to trick us into killing each other again... right?_

Hitoshi didn't have any more time to ponder over it, though, because a sudden _CRASH!_ reverberated through the room. A small plume of dust fell from the ceiling. When Hitoshi looked up at the stage, Monokuma was looking left and right, ears pinned to his skull, as if panicked.

Then, Hitoshi thought he heard... _someone's voice outside?_

_"Spread out, search the building!"_

"Did I just hear what I think I did?" Denki whispered, excitement creeping into his voice.

"Y-Yeah! I told you guys, the heroes are here! They must've come to rescue us!" Mei yelped, delighted. She raised her voice and turned up towards the door. "HEY!! GUYS!! WE'RE IN HERE!!"

Silence fell outside, presumably because the heroes heard Mei's scream, and were already on high-alert. _Maybe they're silently approaching the aud right this moment, ready to burst in and save us..!_

"Aughh! I knew this would happen!" Hitoshi jumped and looked to the stage. Monokuma seemed irritated, but not panicked. It wasn't exactly the expression one would expect a villain to have when their plot was moments away from being spoiled. "Alright, time to set the emergency procedure into action..."

Before any student could do anything, Monokuma pulled out what looked like a small glass orb. It was filled with some sort of translucent pink liquid. He chucked it, as hard as he could, at the students below. It hit the floor right by Mashirao's feet, and immediately shattered. Glass shards slid across the floor, pittering down the stairs. The pink liquid splashed across the floor. "Wh-What is this?!" Denki yelped, lifting his foot from the puddle.

An odd sort of fog began to rise from the spilled liquid, thick and rapidly ascending. Nejire, who was standing on one of the lowest steps, took a small whiff of it and jumped back, stumbling into Mirio.

"G-Guys! There's something wrong with this stuff! I feel... fuzzy..." With that, her eyelids drooped and she collapsed on the floor.

"Nejire!" Tsuyu rushed over to her friend and crouched down beside her, only to find herself engulfed in the fog. "Ahh!" She tried to hold her breath, but it was too late. She crumpled as well.

"I think this is some sort of anesthesia!" Tooru cried, rushing up the steps. Suddenly, one of Kurogiri's portals appeared right in front of her, and Toga leaped out, barreling into her and sending her falling back down the steps. The villain pinned her down right next to Mei to prevent the Artist from tumbling into everyone else.

"Eek! Now the villains are here, too!" Mei yelped. She looked up at the auditorium doors, yellow eyes wide with panic. "HURRY UP! PLEASE, HURRY UP!!"

"HELP!!" Denki screamed, his eyes widening then rolling back as he was overtaken by the fog.

One by one, the students were swiftly all dropping like flies. _This anesthesia stuff... sure is strong..._ Hitoshi was trying his best to stay awake, holding his breath and covering his mouth and nose with a hand. His eyelids drooped dangerously, just barely kept at bay with his willpower. Beside him, Mashirao had already succumbed and was unconscious on the floor. Even Toga's eyes had drooped shut, and she was asleep beside Tooru, a knife handle wrapped by her loose fingers.

"You! Psychic!" Hitoshi whirled around to see Monokuma glaring at him. "Why aren't you unconscious yet?!"

Hitoshi met Monokuma's hostile stare as best as he could with the drowsiness he was battling constantly increasing. Just then, a sudden _BANG!_ from behind him cut his concentration in half, causing him to accidentally inhale. His eyes widened and he whirled around, desperate to see what the sound was before he inevitably would collapse.

The last thing Hitoshi saw before he lost consciousness was five heroes led by a robot barging into the room.

~~~

_A... robot?_

For some reason, that was Hitoshi's first thought when he came back to consciousness. Of all the odd things that had happened in his final moments of wakefulness, the robot was probably the _least_ concerning thing. Regardless, Hitoshi groaned and opened his hazy violet eyes. He was met with nothing but darkness.

_Why can't I see?!_ All sleepiness vanished from his system, replaced with horror and panic instead. _Am I blind?! Did that gas take away my vision? Or am I locked up in some dark box? Why can't I see?!_

"H-hey..? Hitoshi? Are you awake?" Hitoshi heard a hushed voice from his right. Mashirao.

"Yeah, I'm awake..." he replied shakily. "Where are we?"

"I dunno... it's pitch black in here. We're the only two up right now," Mashirao replied softly. Hitoshi turned to the direction of his voice and awkwardly shuffled forward, hoping nobody was laying between him and the tailed boy. Thankfully, he didn't run into any sleeping classmates, but he did hit something with his hand. He tentatively reached out and brushed his finger over the floor in front of him. _Carpet._ Realizing he'd just hit a rug, he relaxed and managed to scoot over to his boyfriend.

"The others should get up soon," Hitoshi whispered. "Should we just wake them up?"

"...I'd prefer not to. Might scare them." The violette murmured an agreement to the blonde's words, before sitting down, leaning against him and placing his head on Mashirao's shoulder. Mashirao gave a small "hm?" of surprise, but accepted the rare show of affection nonetheless.

The two sat there in silence together until the rustling of clothes made it clear that other people were rousing from their slumber. Hitoshi pulled back, but kept close enough to Mashirao that their fingers brushed when he placed his hand on the ground.

"Guys..? Hello? Where are we?" Denki's lost-sounding voice cut into the silence like a spear plunging into water.

"How are _we_ supposed to know? It's pitch dark in here," Mezou scoffed.

"Loosen up on him, won't you?" Hitoshi called back.

"Seriously, though, where do you guys think we are?" Tamaki asked. "And where are you gu- ah!"

"Sorry, Tamaki! I didn't mean to scare you!" That would be Nejire. "We should all do a head count and make sure nobody's missing!"

"There's... twelve of us, right? Add yourself to the number of people while we count. I'll start." Tsuyu's voice rose from some corner of the room. "I'm Tsuyu. One."

"I'm Nejire, and Tamaki's right next to me. Three," The Beauty Pageant Star said.

"This is Mirio! Four!"

"Yaomomo speaking. Five."

"I'm Mashirao, and Hitoshi's with me. Seven," the tailed boy continued. Hitoshi gave a small sigh, in a _'You didn't have to say my own name for me but I'm fine with it'_ sort of way.

A heartbeat of silence followed, as if the remaining five were musing who should go first without running over each other. A light _thump_ could be heard against the floor, as if someone moved on a carpeted floor.

"I'm present. Shouto. Eight." The heterochronous Theorist started the count back up.

"I'm Denki. Nine."

"This is Tooru! Ten!"

"Mezou. Eleven."

"And finally, me, Mei. Twelve."

"So nobody is missing. That's the first priority solved," Mirio commented. "Now we should figure out where we are."

"There's no need to figure it out!" A new voice, obnoxiously loud and robotic, suddenly cut into the student's discussion. Hitoshi jumped and covered his eyes with his hand, squinting, as the lights from above suddenly burst to life.

When he finally got his eyes adjusted to the bright lights, Hitoshi promptly realized that they were in the trial room. The chandelier high over his head, the red rug he and Mashirao were sitting on, the black and white floor tiles... it felt so familiar, yet so wrong, all at once.

"Well, that answers the question," Mezou grumbled, blinking rapidly in the blinding glare of the chandelier.

Hitoshi glanced around. Sure enough, all eleven of his classmates were scattered throughout the room. He and Mashirao were sitting by a podium. Over to their right, around the ring, Denki was laying on the small stairs surrounding the throne. Tamaki and Nejire were by the elevator on the opposite side. Monokuma was standing in the red velvet throne. Denki jumped and crawled away from the throne when he saw the bear. The bear snarled at him.

"Hey, hey! No need to look so scared! I'm not some demon or something!" The monochrome robot returned his attention to the rest of the class. "Anyway, the emergency has been resolved! The elevator is unlocked now and will function properly. Please make your way upstairs!"

The students looked at each other, considering Monokuma's sudden announcement. "Hurry up, now!" At his urging, Hitoshi and a few other people stood up and began to make their way over to the elevator. The rest of the class followed suit.

"Ah! Another thing!" Just as Yaomomo was about to press the _'Open'_ button on the elevator's control panel, Monokuma spoke up again. "Just to let you guys know, there has been some damage to the school building. We are working hard on rebuilding! It shouldn't be too long before the holes are patched up. However... if you try to sneak outta there or do something off-color, I'll let you know there are multiple villains situated at every repair area! So don't even think about it!" Hitoshi blinked, considering Monokuma's words. _Damage..? That must be what that crashing noise was, in addition to whatever the heroes' battle with the villains must've done._

_The heroes..._

"Anyway, you guys are dismissed now. See ya!" When Hitoshi turned around, Monokuma was already gone.

Yaomomo opened the elevator wordlessly and the class filed in. As the box began to ascend towards the ground floor, Mei decided to speak up.

"Hey, guys... about what happened before we all passed out..." she began slowly, awkwardly filling the quiet in the elevator.

"You mean the rescue team, right?" Tamaki asked.

"Yeah! So, you all remember my device, right? The one that got broken?" Mei took the silence that followed her question as a cue to continue. "Well, I ran a few test runs on it, and it worked perfectly. I didn't get too far with it... but what I did give should've been enough to summon that rescue party!"

"So you're crediting yourself with getting the rescue party to show up?" Mezou scoffed. "The more likely reason is probably just they discovered the League was imprisoning us in here, and finally actually made it into the building. There's no doubt the League has guards outside."

"Well, that's possible... but my idea is also possible!" Mei retorted.

"It doesn't matter now, because the villains kicked them out again anyway," Denki said softly.

Silence fell in the elevator again, following Denki's words. The box clicked to a stop as it hit the ground floor, and the bronze doors slid open, iron gates unfolding.

The class stepped out and filed into the lobby. Immediately, Hitoshi spotted the damage beside the door.

There was a large hole in the wall. A heap of debris -rock, cement, metal plates, some wood- lay on the ground inside. Outside, the sky was overcast, covered in gray clouds. But the cool breeze was certainly there, billowing in and surrounding Hitoshi's senses with fresh air, its crisp scent polluted only the smell of smoke and the presence of Spinner and Dabi by the hole. They were evidently standing guard. And outside the hole...

_All for One._

A chill ran down Hitoshi's spine, causing him to step backwards into Mashirao. By then, most of the students had seen him and were having similar reactions of fear and shock.

_Why is he here?_

Then Hitoshi saw who was crouched below the villainous mastermind. It was Cementoss, the calm, block-headed teacher who formerly worked for U.A. before the Killing Game began.

"Hey! Cementoss!" Mei called out. He didn't respond; his eyes were blank, his hands placed on the ground, quirk activated. Spinner and Dabi glared at her, and she swiftly shut her mouth. All for One was silent, focusing on staring at Cementoss and his work.

"It seems my suspicions were correct," Mirio murmured fearfully, gazing at him. The block-headed man was creating a wall of cement to patch up the hole, the gray stone rising in waves.

"Wh-What is that supposed to mean?" Tamaki asked, eyes fixed on the hole repair job.

"Our dorms. The wall splitting the classrooms in half to create two bedrooms, I mean," Mirio explained. "On our first day here, before everything happened, when I first entered my dorm, I noticed the ridge at the base of the wall. It was like the ridges Cementoss's quirk created when he made walls. I thought, _maybe the villains captured the U.A. teachers and are forcing them to do this stuff."_

"You're right... and the anesthesia, the one Monokuma just used to knock us out when the rescue team showed up. It was liquid, sure, but it evaporated quickly. Its color and effect resemble Midnight's quirk," Shouto added.

Hitoshi looked back to Cementoss, who was still building the wall. The cement was still rising, now nearly complete. From what he could see, amidst the rumbling rock, his eyes were still blank and cloudy. _As if... he were brainwashed._

_Of course._ All for One must've snatched a brainwashing quirk off of someone, and he was now using it to control his captives. From getting Midnight to secrete some of her pink anesthetic gas to forcing Cementoss to build walls, it made sense.

_But who did he steal it from?_

_Me? It resembles my lost quirk, clearly._

_But when would he have the chance to..?_

Shaking off his suspicion and unease, Hitoshi turned back to his classmates. "Well, what should we do about this?"

"We can't exactly _do_ anything, per say," Tsuyu murmured. "Spinner and Dabi are standing guard, so we can't approach the hole to investigate or anything."

"Maybe we should check the rest of the school for any more damage," Nejire suggested.

"Yeah... good idea," Mei murmured. "Should we split up? We could cover more ground that way, and faster. We can meet up afterwards down here."

And so the class split up into pairs, with each duo searching one floor. Hitoshi obviously paired with Mashirao. The two went up to the third floor, where the cafeteria and kitchen were. As soon as they crested the landing, Hitoshi spotted the hole in the wall straight ahead. Fortunately, the damage didn't reach the kitchen, and the rubble appeared to have been hastily cleaned away.

Standing guard at the hole were Mr. Compress and a sleepy-looking Toga. She had a knife in each hand, though, so it appeared she was as deadly as ever.

Toga's clouded eyes swiveled and fixed on Hitoshi and Mashirao. "Heeeey," she mumbled. "I have kniiiiiives."

"We can see that, you have knives, yes," Mashirao spluttered out quickly, before backing away to leave, making a beeline for the staircase. Mr. Compress ignored them and allowed them to leave, and Hitoshi heard Toga yawn.

***

That night, Mei flopped down in the chair by her worktable. Ever since the time her machine had been broken, she had fallen into the routine of sleeping in the lab, sometimes on the worktable, the boxy contraption in her arms. _This way, nobody can break it again._

Today, she picked up the device from the workspace and turned it, admiring the simple design. _It's done._ Pride washed through her, joy at her project finally being completed. _My baby's finally complete again._

She sat down on the floor, her pillow and blanket under the table. She lay down on the ground, the box-shaped machine in her arms. As she shut her eyes, she began to think about the events that transpired that day.

_The hero rescue mission._ Mei was so _sure_ it was her device that summoned the rescue team. _Why else would they wait until now, precisely, to send a mission that successfully infiltrated the school? There's no doubt they would've deduced the school was where we were held within days of the attack. The villains must've held off the previous raids... and today they finally broke in._

_Maybe Yuga told them something? Or perhaps my message gave them the full severity of how much worse our situation had gotten since Yuga escaped._

_But no matter what... they know we're here now. And that there's only twelve of us left._

_Aside from that..._

_...who is the traitor Monokuma mentioned, if there even is one?_

_And are they really planning a murder?_


	34. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 3 - Daily Life

There was a gloomy silence hanging over the students' heads at breakfast the following day. Everybody was quiet, somberly eating their food, going through the motions mindlessly as they comprehended the chaos of yesterday.

_Where to even begin? The traitor motive, the hero rescue, All for One brainwashing Cementoss... I'm surprised all that happened just yesterday. It feels like so long ago..._

Tamaki, as usual, was eating in silence. He normally didn't talk much anyway, so the quiet wasn't uncomfortable, per say. No, the rest of the class being in pure silence was the thing that put him on edge. _I guess I can't blame them. After that..._

"Ahem. _Hello."_ Tamaki jumped and looked up as Mezou suddenly spoke, the tension in the room thickening to a choking point. "If you're all going to continue with your naive searching for hope and truth, shouldn't you discuss what transpired yesterday?" the multi-armed boy asked coldly.

Another lapse of quiet followed his prompting.

"I... agree with him," Tsuyu softly said. Her eyes still bore that haunted look; she was staring at her empty plate with wide eyes. Nejire had been giving her a concerned look since they sat down. "We should discuss. It could help us get out..."

"Alright. Let's talk, then," Mirio spoke, true to his nature. "The hero rescue team."

"Well, they're sort of obvious," Hitoshi stated bluntly. "There's a few possibilities. They could've finally made it into the building after being held off by the villains for their first few attempts, they could've finally sent their first all-out raid after sending scouts, or-"

"Or it could've been my machine! My device!" Mei piped up. "The test run I sent a while ago. Maybe that got through and they finally got some sense of urgency, or something!"

"...possible," Mashirao said slowly. "Or Yuga could've given them some pointers."

"Wh-Whatever the case with the rescue team, we know they got in and got fought off by the villains... meaning the villains are strong." Tamaki built up enough courage to speak out, stumbling into the conversation.

"I agree. The more important fact of the matter here is the traitor motive Monokuma gave us," Nejire said, tearing her eyes from Tsuyu. She seemed concerned; the Pageant Star was like a flower that had finally managed to unfurl its petals, even if only for one day, and was looking out for everyone else with little regard for her own health. _Another good day, hm? I'd like to think she's getting better._

"The traitor motive? That's got to be a lie," Denki whimpered, his eyes distant. He wasn't eating; he never got food in the first place. His head was on his arms on the table.

"Are you sure?" Yaomomo murmured. "So far we've already had murderers, a mass bomber, and an assassin among our ranks. It wouldn't be a stretch to say we have a villain, too."

"H-Hey, don't be so pessimistic!" Tooru cried. "Monokuma's probably lying, to make us suspicious!"

"I agree with her. He likely wants to make us all suspicious, so that someone will try to kill whoever they believe the traitor is!" Mei announced.

"But what if he isn't? Yaomomo's right, it isn't a stretch," Shouto suddenly spoke up for the first time that morning, his voice soft.

"Eh? _Two_ pessimists?!" Tooru wailed.

"Monokuma has never lied before," Mezou said. "He's always acted out his motives; he let Yuga go, for example. And it's not a stretch to think one of us could be a villain."

"Three?!" Tooru continued.

"Guys, we shouldn't be so negative!" Nejire cut in. "That won't do us any good, and we'll all end up dead that way!"

"Upupupu! That would be fun, wouldn't it?!" Monokuma suddenly leaped out from behind the half-wall. Tamaki -along with a few other people- jumped.

"Puhuhu! Scared you, didn't I?" Monokuma grinned. "I see you're all hesitant to believe me, which is suuuuuper disappointing. I've never lied, have I?"

"Yeah, but you're still a villain. Who knows what you could pull?" Mezou growled.

"Never mind that! Anyway, I'm here to convince you, so listen up and take notes!" He jumped to the head of the table and cleared his throat. "Ahem.

"One-A kids! You must all remember the USJ attack, right?" Monokuma prompted. Several of Tamaki's underclassmen nodded; heck, everyone in the school knew well about that. It was a huge blow to UA, having villains entering the campus.

"Well, the villains were after All Might. That was never a mystery. All Might had been scheduled to teach there that day; he arrived late, of course, to save the day at the end. However, how did the League know All Might was to be there, on that specific day, at that time?" The robot grinned.

Silence followed. Tamaki had never actually considered that before; why and how did the League choose that specific location and time to attack, with such a large-scale team as well? He heard they brought a Nomu and a ton of minor villains with them. It was odd, now that he looked back on the event.

"The League knew about the schedule! They knew that All Might was going to be there, because SOMEONE told them about the schedule! The someone... was a member of the school." Monokuma looked awfully proud of his deduction.

Even worse was that he was probably right.

"But then it could be anyone! The traitor might not even be a member of this class!" Mei insisted.

"But that's not the last of it!" Monokuma continued. "Remember when Shigaraki attacked Izuku at the mall? Bingo! Someone told him about that. And after that, the Vanguard Action Squad's attack on the summer camp? Nobody knew where the camp was taking place except for some of the staff, the Pussycats, and -you guessed it- Class One-A, once they got there!

"And of course, somebody told the League about the location of the camp. That somebody was a member of Class One-A!" Monokuma held up his paws and smiled. "So? How about that?"

"Wrong... this has got to be a trick..." Tsuyu whispered. She put her head down and started whispering to herself. Nejire was growing increasingly concerned.

"But he has logic. He's right," Shouto said. "It can't be a member of the Big Three, Mei, Class One-B, or Hitoshi, because they wouldn't know about the mall visit. It can't be a staff member because they also wouldn't know about the mall visit. It can't be the Pussycats because they don't know the schedule for the USJ attack."

"So... it has to be a member of Class One-A?" Mashirao whispered.

"Yup!" Monokuma smiled. "Yaomomo, Tooru, Tsuyu, Denki, Mashirao, Mezou, Shouto! One of you is the traitor!"

Silence. The tension was rising again.

"Puhuhu! Think it over with your little golden brains! I'll be off now!" Monokuma ran off, laughing.

"He's... he's gotta be kidding, right?" Tooru murmured. "A traitor..?"

"All the evidence he's provided is correct," Mezou said. "All of his points, and everything that's happened so far... there's most likely a traitor in our midst."

A hush fell over the students again. The tension was thick enough to slice with a blade.

"I'm leaving," Mezou announced. He took his plate and walked out the door.

"Me too... Come on, Mashirao." Hitoshi beckoned to his boyfriend, and they left together. _So he still trusts him, huh?_

One by one, all the students left. Everyone parted on a terse note.

Throughout the day, the tension only got worse. Tamaki could see the looks the students gave each other; Tsuyu would walk with Nejire and refuse to talk to anyone. Mashirao and Hitoshi stuck together like glue; it was clear the violette trusted him greatly. Mezou stayed in the gym, alone. Denki holed himself up in his room. Tooru and Mei stuck together. The formerly invisible girl stayed in Mei's room the whole day. Yaomomo and Shouto were in the library for part of the afternoon, alone.

In short, it was terrible.

That evening, Tamaki went to Mirio's room for the Big Three-plus-Tsuyu gathering they had arranged for dinner, since obviously the class didn't gather for a meal and Tamaki enjoyed anything with Mirio involved anyway. He ran into Nejire on their way over.

"How long do you think the class'll keep this up?" she asked, clearly down from the traitor situation going on. "How long... before someone dies?"

"I'm not sure," Tamaki murmured.

"But I know it won't be long."


	35. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 4 - Deadly Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm another excessive gore warning!! I'm not sure if this one illicits a warning but I'm putting it here anyway!

As expected -although dreaded-, the impending disaster arrived in three days.

It was early afternoon. Yaomomo was sitting in a corner of the cafeteria drinking tea when Tooru burst into the room. She was out of breath, her eyes wide with terror. Brief surprise and alarm jolting through her, Yaomomo got up and hurried over to her, along with Tsuyu and Denki, who had been in the kitchen and must've seen her running into the room.

"T-Tooru! What's wrong?!" Denki asked. Tsuyu trailed behind her. Yaomomo reached out in a comforting gesture to place a hand on the Artist's shoulder.

"It's... Mei..!" Tooru stared at the girls with wide, tear-filled eyes. "She's dead!"

Stunned silence, in which the full force of the unfolding case hit each of the students all at once. Yaomomo gazed blankly at the Artist. _And here we go again. I expected this to happen again, especially after such a motive... but that doesn't make it any better._

_Why do we have to keep doing this, in an endless, unlearning cycle?_

_Why do we have to keep killing until we're all dead?_

_Why do... my friends keep dying?_

_..._

_It doesn't matter now. Not anymore... I just have to do the investigation. Get through the trial, live another day..._

"Where? Where is- where is she?!" Denki snapped out of his own stunned silence. Tsuyu was staring blankly at Tooru, eyes wide.

"Her lab..." Tooru was openly crying now. "It's... she didn't deserve this..."

"None of our classmates deserved to die," Yaomomo soothed. _Although they did, anyway._ "We just have to deal with this."

"Deal with... it?" Tooru's voice was small.

"Don't bother with it now. Come on, Denki, Tsu. Mei's lab. We have to activate the investigation," Yaomomo said, already rushing towards the door.

"We should... all go together. For safety reasons. Tsu, come on." Denki hurried after Yaomomo, with Tsu behind them. Tooru followed them, wiping away her tears the best she could.

The Detective-Affluent Progeny raced downstairs, hitting the first floor with the other three close behind. She was approaching the lab entrance. She stopped before it, her heartrate suddenly increasing tenfold. _Another one of our classmates... dead and gone._

She rounded the corner, whirling into the doorway of the room.

_A corpse lying atop the worktable._

_A body, clothed in a pink jacket, leggings accentuating its legs, magenta sandals adorning its feet._

_A stream of blood, trickling out from under their back._

_A knife buried within their chest._

_Wide, golden eyes; eyes that used to be full of light, and creativity, and ideas, now reduced to hazy round orbs._

_Pink locks of hair, sprawling out behind their head._

Mei Hatsume was truly dead, lying atop her own lab table, murdered while surrounded by her own livelihood. _How... tragic._

Yaomomo and Denki halted in the doorway of the lab, with Tsuyu and Tooru still trailing behind in the hallway. Overhead, the monitor on the ceiling flickered to life.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, the class trial will begin!"_

Yaomomo's eyes were fixed on the body. _That outfit... it looks off on her. She looks surprised in death, as well..._ Behind her, she distantly heard Tsuyu and Tooru come into the doorway as well, the former drawing a sharp breath and the latter quietly weeping. Within the room, there was a low, consistent buzzing noise emanating throughout the room, like white noise accompanying a movie scene.

"Why..?" Denki murmured. That one word sounded haunted; sad.

Yaomomo opened her mouth, about to reply, when a sound from the ceiling made her jump and go quiet. She looked up, gray eyes fixing on the monitor for the second time.

It had turned on again.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, the class trial will begin!"_

"A double announcement?" Tsuyu's voice was small. "But..."

"There's only one thing that could mean," Yaomomo murmured. "There's another body somewhere in this school." She was still staring at Mei's body, but her mind was already whirling into gear.

_So two people managed to kill... or maybe one person killed two people. Or they killed each other._

_Two more of our classmates, our friends... dead._

_It's too cruel..._

"We have to find the second body," Tooru spoke up. Her eyes were red and teary, and her voice shuddered, but she looked like she was trying her best to get with it. "We'll have to do the trial..."

"We should split up, gather everyone we can find," Yaomomo suggested. "Tooru, go downstairs to the ground floor, and after that, the second floor upstairs. I'll do floors three and four. Denki and Tsu can take the dormitory floors."

_No time to hesitate... we have to find that second body, then begin investigation._

The group did as she instructed. Tooru headed downstairs, Yaomomo, Denki, and Tsuyu up. Yaomomo stepped into the third floor hallway while the other two continued upstairs.

"Everyone!" she yelled. "Where are you?!"

In a heartbeat, a familiar face ran out of the kitchen, closely tailed by his dark-haired companion. "Yaomomo!" Mirio called, running over to her. Tamaki swiftly followed suit. "I was just looking for Nejire. Do you... know who it was?"

"Mei's dead. She's in her lab. Tooru, Denki, Tsu, and I discovered her. We're trying to find the other one," Yaomomo said, her voice monotonous. "Did you check the cafeteria?"

"Y-Yeah, nobody's there. I checked the whole floor. Come on, we have to find everyone else!" Mirio's eyes were alight with panic. _At heart, he really is just a hero, huh? Caring about his friends over all else, a lover of the masses, an advocate for every innocent person, living or dead..._

Yaomomo turned, waved for them to follow, and started for the staircase again. "Denki and Tsu are going around the dorms. I'm supposed to check the fourth floor. Tooru's checking the ground and second floors. Stick with me."

The three of them hurried upstairs. They were making their way down the wing when someone thundered up the stairs after them. Yaomomo whirled around, her first thought that it might be the killer still going on their killing spree, when she realized it was Hitoshi. The violet-haired Psychic rushed over to her. His eyes were filled with worry and panic. "Yaomomo! Thank god I found you- have you seen Mashirao?" His voice was insistent, hopeful; _of course he's worried._

"I haven't. One of the dead is Mei. She was in her lab," the ravenette replied. "We haven't found the second body yet."

Hitoshi was practically radiating worry, anxious nerves crackling like electricity through his body. He was trembling, dull purple eyes anxious and dreading. "I'll come with you."

The four walked along. "Everyone! Where are you?!" she called.

"Nejire?" Tamaki called. "Mashirao?"

"Guys! No need to hide! Yaomomo found one of the crime scenes already!" Mirio added.

"Yaomomo?" Suddenly, from around the corner, Mezou appeared. His gaze was stony. "Ah. All four of you, come with me. We found the other body."

She involuntarily gulped. She didn't realize she was anxious to know who the second victim was. _I didn't think I had it in me to care anymore._

Silently, the four followed the cold Heavylifter. Yaomomo's hands shuddered, sweaty and clammy with anxiety. _Of the people we haven't found yet... I hope Shouto's alive. I'm sure Hitoshi's hoping Mashirao's okay, and Mirio and Tamaki are worried about Nejire._

_Someone is going to heartbroken..._

_Apart from Tooru already, someone will have to suffer today..._

They rounded the corner, following Mezou towards the laundry room. He stopped, sighed, and stepped aside. "Go inside."

Yaomomo's hands were shaking as she walked in. And what lay within...

...was one of the most horrifying crime scenes yet.

_A body, tangled in a net, laying on the floor._

_A pool of blood surrounding the corpse, laying it upon a bed of hot, sticky pink._

_A body with nothing but a stump of a neck, the severed limb gushing fluid, all pulsing flesh and slimy, shiny red._

_A washing machine, running innocently in the corner as something was washed clean within its case._

_A body clad in pink-splattered brown attire, a bloodsoaked scarf draping around its shoulders._

_A large kitchen knife, splashed to the hilt in blood, lying beside the broken corpse._

_A body with no head, washing the floor tiles in blood and gore._

Mashirao was dead.

Yaomomo stared, stunned, at the headless corpse lying before her. There was something sickening rising in her esophagus, and her stomach churned. A small, strangled noise escaped her throat, and she brought her hand to her mouth.

It was like Kyouka all over again, except less personal.

For her, anyway.

It was most certainly personal for someone, a certain someone standing beside her and staring at his beloved's dead, bloody corpse.

"No... that's... Mashirao's clothes..." Hitoshi's voice was hushed, his eyes wide and shimmering with tears. His face was pale; his whole body was shuddering. He blinked and stumbled forwards, slowly approaching the body, as if he couldn't accept it. "Mashi... is that... you?"

"It... there's still a possibility it isn't, right?" Tamaki's voice was small and strained. "That's just Mashirao's clothes... what if someone else was dressed up as him?"

"That's unlikely." Yaomomo jumped, her eyes snapped away from the headless body drowning in its own blood and Hitoshi standing there, uncomprehending, as he gazed blankly at his boyfriend's corpse. Shouto was standing in the corner, eyes closed, facing the side of the room and away from the scene.

An unspeakable wave of relief went through Yaomomo at that moment. _Shouto's alive. He's alive and well..._

"Now that you know I'm also alive, who have you not seen yet?" Shouto's voice was calm, emotionless; like he were shutting out the world, shutting out having to see Hitoshi's reaction to the death.

"Nejire..." Yaomomo forced her voice out of her mouth, the girl's name foreign on her tongue. Her mind was blank, her heart beating out of her chest. Her stomach was still flipping.

"The body here is clearly masculine. Just from your first glance... you know it's a guy. So Nejire is alive. That only leaves the solution we have now," Shouto finished.

Silence engulfed the trial room, the whirr of the washing machine fading to background noise. Yaomomo found herself watching Hitoshi as he stood before Mashirao's dead body, staring at it, incapable of doing anything but just standing there and crying and regretting and wishing.

_I wonder what's going through his head right now._

"Upupupu..." The all-too-familiar sound of robotic laughter was what jolted Yaomomo back to reality. She -and Mirio and Tamaki- whirled around to see Monokuma bouncing down the hall. He was clutching a black and white tablet, as usual.

"Oh dear, oh dear! Another double kill?! Man, you kids are dropping left and right like flies!" Yaomomo sighed. _I wonder how Hitoshi would feel, hearing that._

Monokuma laughed to himself. "Anyway, I came to drop off this!" He handed the file to Yaomomo. "Have a good time! Remember, there's two bodies this time again! Remember the trial rules! Puhuhuhu..!"

And then he was gone.

Yaomomo sighed, turning over the Monokuma File. She stepped out into the hallway. She didn't particularly want to be in the same place as that headless corpse, nor intrude on the tragedy this case was for Hitoshi. Tamaki, Mirio, Mezou, and Shouto followed her.

"So, another double murder..." Shouto's voice was flat. "We should split up, for time efficiency." When met with the questioning eyes of the two Big Three members, he decided to turn to Yaomomo. "Yaomomo. You, as our body inspector, need to look at both bodies. However, since the body discovery announcements we already spent quite a bit of time getting you to Mashirao's scene. It would be wise to split up."

"But not everyone's here yet," Mirio pointed out. "Yaomomo sent Denki, Tooru, and Tsu out to find people. The only person left to get is Nejire, but you never told the others where to go _after_ finding people."

Yaomomo nodded. "Okay. Good points from both of you. Mezou, could you go and find Tooru? She should be on the ground floor or the second floor, probably the latter. You can both head to Mei's lab afterwards. Shouto, get Denki and Tsu from the dormitories. Tell Denki to go to Mei's lab and Tsu to come here. Whoever finds Nejire should get her to come here as well."

"Okay." Shouto turned to head off towards the staircase as soon as he received instructions. "The dorms... Denki to Mei, Tsu to Mashirao. Got it. I'll see you later, Yaomomo," he called back to her.

"And you think I'll listen to you?" Mezou was more stubborn.

Yaomomo groaned. "The class trial doesn't have time for this, Mezou. You might die later with the rest of us if the investigation doesn't go smoothly, so go get Tooru. See you later."

She turned on her heel and reentered the laundry room. Hitoshi was now crouching by the headless corpse, frozen in place and gazing at it, still stunned and in a grief-fogged haze. _I won't bother him yet._

She silently turned right and stood in the corner, pulling up the Monopad and turning it on to read over it. Mirio and Tamaki came in to join her as well, peering over her shoulder to see.

_>Case VI_

_Victims: Mei Hatsume and Mashirao Ojirou_

_Fatal Wound: Mashirao died from decapitation._

_Other Wounds: Mei is bleeding from a wound in her back._

_Weapon: There is a large kitchen knife, soaked to the hilt, next to Mashirao's body._

_Time of Death: Mei died at roughly 14:30.<_

_As usual, there is missing evidence,_ Yaomomo thought. _I think I can work with this, though._

She put the File away and looked around the room. _As much as I don't want to bother Hitoshi, I still have to investigate the body, no matter how gruesome it looks. But I guess I could just investigate around the body first, then go in..._

She looked to the washing machine in the left corner. _I should investigate everything, including that..._ Yaomomo walked over to it as quietly as she could- Mashirao's body was in the opposite corner to that wall. She shut off the machine and lifted the lid, peering in, only to see-

"Ah!" She couldn't help but let out a surprised little yelp. "This is..."

_Mashirao's head._

_I guess... this sure sets his death in stone..._

The severed head was laying in the washing machine, covered in blood and magenta bubbles. Past that, the Martial Artist's skin was white as a sheet, his eyes shut, hair soaked and tinted pink. And his neck.. The revealed flesh was faint, meat and muscle tissue a pale pink color. Blood was seeping from little holes in it; severed arteries, Yaomomo realized.

There were other things in the washing machine too; a brown shirt, a pair of pants, and a bandana. _Mashirao's clothes._ All of it was soaked pink, covered in a sea of bubbles. _Ugh..._ Yaomomo swiftly shut the washing machine again. _Not looking at that._

Moving away, she scoured the rest of the room. It was a small space; it was originally a piece of the teacher's lounge next door, Yaomomo was sure, fenced off by the villains. There are two washing machines and two dryers in the corner. A clothesline hung across the other side of the room. A few small shelves and cabinets contained some laundry necessities, like dryer sheets and detergent.

However, as she investigated every drawer and shelf, nothing stood out to her. There were all of the laundry supplies, like bleach, detergent, and such, which could be used to poison someone, but for the time being she didn't look further into it. Nothing was missing, like with Mina's case. Left with nothing else to do, Yaomomo slowly approached Mashirao's corpse.

"Ahem... Ermm..." Yaomomo tried to gently alert Hitoshi of her presence. If he did notice she was standing over him, he didn't move or do anything about it.

"Hitoshi, please, I have to-"

"Go away."

Yaomomo fell silent, tilting her head as he stared down at Hitoshi. The violette's gaze had not moved from his dead boyfriend's body, but his words were clearly directed towards her.

"Huh?" she uttered.

"I said, go away!" Hitoshi snapped, ripping his eyes to her. She felt cold sweat on her forehead.

_Those eyes._ He was glaring at Yaomomo with a viciousness she had never seen in them before. Hitoshi was angry; beyond simply pissed off at her for talking to him in his grief. Tears slid down his face as he glared at the Detective-Affluent Progeny with hatred; hatred for her, hatred for the world, hatred for the game, hatred for whoever killed Mashirao.

"Why do you try to meddle?!" Hitoshi's voice cracked as he yelled at her, rage spilling from his every pore. "When all of this tragedy has happened, when everyone is dying, when everyone you love is taken from you and you're left with nothing but regrets and pity, why, Yaomomo? Why are you still playing this game?! Why don't you let us just _give up?!"_

"I-" Yaomomo met Hitoshi's glare evenly, trying to tear into his ranting. _Of course he's grieving, of course he's broken beyond repair right now, but can't he just let me do this? Does he really want everyone else to die..?_

"Wouldn't that be easier? Oh, it would be so much _fucking easier!"_ Hitoshi continued, now advancing on Yaomomo. "This game won't end. That much has been clear after so many of your class and my friends have been killed. So why not just let us all die?!"

"Hitoshi, calm down!" Yaomomo cried, her hand going to his shoulder. He slapped it away.

"Why should I calm down?! You don't understand, do you?" Hitoshi snapped at her. "Do you know how much it hurts when you finally let down your walls, only to get slapped in the face for it? I let him in, I let myself get close to him- and then he got killed!"

_"Hitoshi!"_ Yaomomo grabbed the Psychic's arms and held onto them, forcing him to stop. "Please... I know how it hurts to lose someone you cared about. Don't discredit me for that."

Hitoshi's eyes flickered for a moment, his mask of rage cracking to show sympathy through. _He remembers Kyouka, of course he does. Denki's an everyday reminder of her._

"But aside from that... Mashirao would want you to avenge him. Do him justice, lay him to sleep properly," Yaomomo said, her voice softening. "We have to find his murderer. They can't get away with this."

Hitoshi gazed at her for a moment, tears dripping down his face as he seethed at her. _He looks like he wants to kill someone right now._

But a few moments later, he recoiled back, a small sob escaping his throat. "Fine. F-Fine. Investigate him. And promise me..." He looked up from his feet, meeting Yaomomo's neutral gray eyes with grief-filled teary ones. "Promise you'll help me find his killer. But after this, please. Just... let us go. I don't want to keep doing this, going through losing all our friends over and over. I want this to stop, I want it all to stop so badly. So please end this for us, okay? End it for the sake of all the dead." Hitoshi's voice was shuddering, his shoulders drooping. His expression looked pitiful as he spoke to her.

There was a certain threat in his words, though, as if he would actually do something if Yaomomo didn't abide to his words.

_Let us go._ They rang in her head like bells, insistent and chiming and distracting.

"...alright. Just let me investigate. We don't have much time left," Yaomomo said. Hitoshi seemed to deflate, sighing as he stepped away from Mashirao's corpse. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

The scene free, Yaomomo stepped forward to investigate. She crouched down by the body- or as close as she could, considering the pool of blood surrounding it. As thorough as her investigation had to be, she had no wish to dirty her boots and track pink footprints everywhere.

She scanned over the body with her eyes instead, avoiding looking at the neck wound as best as she could. From the shoulders and below, Mashirao was tangled in a rather large net. As she looked closer, Yaomomo could be what looked like lumps of orange goop plastered to the body, under the remains of what appeared to be rubber sacs on the net. Upon even further inspection, she realized the goop was likely acidic, fizzing and slowly burning a hole into the body.

As Yaomomo began inspecting Mashirao's arms and hands, she noticed something sticking out from his right palm. It was closed on something. She carefully pulled the thing loose to discover that it was a piece of dark blue cloth.

Moving on from that discovery and setting the cloth off to the side, she also noticed something odd on Mashirao's arm. Leaning forward -just barely avoiding falling into the blood puddle-, she could tell the cloth was ripped in a clean line.

_A gash... no, that's too small and straight to be a gash wound. It's probably..._

_A stab wound._

"Curious, how curious..." Yaomomo eased back and stood up, tiptoeing around the blood to investigate the other thing that had caught her eye earlier.

There was a large kitchen knife lying in the puddle of blood. Because the handle was obviously thicker than the blade and it was suspended in the air, Yaomomo could tell that the knife was soaked to the hilt with magenta liquid. _I see... this must be the weapon of the crime._ Taking note of the evidence, Yaomomo got up and finally turned to the only other person in the room. _Even if he's not in his right mind, I need the account. He was close to Mashirao, after all..._

"Hitoshi." She approached him and got his attention quickly. "I need an account from you."

"Alright... I guess it's a part of investigation." Hitoshi sighed. "This afternoon, I... I didn't accompany Mashirao. After we had lunch together at noon, I went down to the library, and Mashirao decided to do some housekeeping in his dorm. That was the last time I saw him." His voice shuddered as he continued, grief evident in his words.

Yaomomo felt a wince of pity for him. "What about the past few days? Ever notice something weird? Maybe someone giving him an odd look?" She pressed onwards.

"No... I rarely left his side the past few days. It was just today," Hitoshi replied softly.

She pondered that and nodded. "Thanks, Hitoshi. I'll solve this case, I'm sure of it."

He didn't reply. His gaze had dropped back to the body on the floor.

Yaomomo began making her way to the door. _I've investigated all I can here... it's time to give an autopsy for Mei, and get investigation reports from the others._

As she stepped outside, a certain blue-haired girl approached her, closely flanked by Mirio, Tamaki, and Tsuyu. She was holding the Swimmer's arm and leading her along. "Ah, Nejire. I'm glad to see you," Yaomomo said as she turned to face her.

"Oh, I'm sorry to make everyone worry... I was tired, so I decided to take a nap in my room," she explained. On par with her account, Nejire's hair was unstyled and messy. "You investigated... Mashirao, right?"

"Yeah. I hate to split you up again, but could two of you stay behind and watch Hitoshi from outside the room?" Yaomomo lowered her voice, her eyes flitting within the room. Hitoshi had sat down in the corner, next to the body. There was blood on his shoes, and his head was down on his knees, which he'd brought up to his chest. "I don't want him to do something if he's alone."

"I could stay with him," Mirio offered. "Silent company."

"If he's staying, I'll stay too..." Tamaki began, but the Ultimate Hope shook his head.

"Look, Tamaki, you gotta gain some confidence in yourself, instead of relying on me," Mirio said, smiling softly. "I know it's been tough since we got imprisoned here... but you must stop leaning only on me! You have to be strong by yourself, in case anything ever happens to me, or you're stuck in a situation alone." He paused, observing the nervous expression on Tamaki's face. "Do it for me, okay?"

"I'll go with him," Nejire volunteered softly, cutting into their conversation.

"Sure." Tamaki turned to Nejire. "Let's go, th-then... investigation won't last forever."

"Take good care of Tsu, okay? Make sure she doesn't wander away..." Nejire's voice took on a tone of concern as she eyed Tsuyu.

"I'm fine," Tsuyu protested, although her eyes kept going from side to side, searching for something that wasn't there.

"If that's settled, let's go," Yaomomo insisted, although she hesitated for a moment to glance at Tsuyu. _Mirio can handle her; they're friends. I have to focus on the investigation._

Nejire nodded, gently grabbed Tamaki's arm, and began dragging him along after Yaomomo, making their way downstairs to the lab on the first floor.

As soon as the trio entered, Shouto looked up from his investigation of a pile of boxes on the floor, rising to greet her. "Hello, Yaomomo. You finished investigating Mashirao?"

"Yes. I have enough evidence for him," she said. "What have you found with Mei?"

"Well, just from a look at Mei's body, she's dressed in Ochako's clothes, which is odd," Shouto began, gesturing to the corpse. Yaomomo looked to it and indeed, now that he mentioned it, the unfitting pink attire was clearly the late Mochi Chef's. "And in her pocket, we found this buzzer." Shouto picked up a small black trinket from beside Mei's body. It was a tiny black device, equipped with a small red light. The light was flashing and the object was buzzing.

"It must be Mei's, then," Yaomomo concluded easily. "But what does it connect to? We did notice a strange sound when we first found the body..."

"We don't know," someone cut in. "But there's some more interesting things we found, as well."

Yaomomo turned to see that Tooru had approached them. Her face was still red, but her eyes were filled with renewed vigor, determination to avenge her friend. "We were digging through the boxes after looking around the room, because we thought maybe the killer would hide something in them."

She began to walk around the worktable, towards the mess of things all over the floor. Mezou and Denki were sitting on the floor going through them.

"Look at what Mezou found earlier," Shouto added, pointing at a certain box they had set off to the side. He, Yaomomo, and Tooru crouched down by it as the ravenette sifted through the contents within.

It was a box of spare metal parts for mechanical work, but there were a few items in there that just _had_ to be crime scene evidence. She picked out the suspicious objects and put them on the floor next to her.

_A button._ There was a small iron rectangular prism. The only thing on it was a white button.

_Two masks._ The pair of full-head masks were made of what looked like cardboard and cloth. The part that actually covered the face was painted white, with a splash of pink across it. The cover for the rest of the head -which concealed the hair and part of the neck of anyone wearing it- was soft and beige.

_...Mina's outfit?_ Yaomomo pulled out a neatly folded bundle of clothes. Upon shaking them out, she easily identified the purple sailor outfit with a blue dress, stockings, and ribbon as the deceased Dancer's get-up. _What is Mina's outfit doing in this..?_

_And why does it have blood on it?_ There was a large, damp bloodstain splattered across the width of the clothes. _Does it have something to do with Ochako's outfit, the one Mei's wearing?_

"We haven't tried to test the button yet," Tooru commented.

"But aside from that, the mask and outfit... do you think the killer dressed themselves up? But why would there be two masks in that case?" Shouto mused.

"It's something to consider in the trial," Yaomomo said slowly, putting the items aside. "Let's hold onto the buzzer and button for now." She handed the button to Shouto, who nodded and pocketed it along with the buzzer, which was still going off.

"We found some other stuff, too," Denki spoke up. "We left them over on the other side of the worktable..."

Yaomomo got up. Tooru hung back and returned to working with the Heavylifter and Electrician, while Shouto accompanied her to the table. Tamaki and Nejire decided to help the trio with the box sorting.

Yaomomo immediately spotted the two objects lying a short distance away from Mei's limp body. "It's a tablet. And... a switchblade?" she murmured, picking up the fake leather-padded handle.

Shouto leaned in next to her to point at something. "There's a switch there, on the underside of the han-"

His comment was likely not needed, because at that moment Yaomomo flicked said switch and a massive silver blade unfurled from the unassuming little handhold.

"Ah!" Shouto and Yaomomo both jumped back, the latter still clutching the handle. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room had also noticed the shiny weapon of death and destruction that had just been released from its case. Most people jumped at the sight of it alone.

It was a massive knife, a beautifully crafted harbinger of death. It curved slightly, the tip pointing down. The bottom of the blade was serrated in wide arcs, the edge sharp as- well, sharp as a knife.

"It's... what the heck is this?" Yaomomo carefully turned the black handle in her hand.

"It's a very large blade," Shouto said slowly. "A... um... megablade."

"You kind of suck at naming things, but that works," Yaomomo teased weakly. "You're right, though, I suppose."

She experimentally pulled the switch again, and the blade folded neatly back into the handle. Yaomomo dropped it back on the table and wrung out her hands. She picked up the tablet next. It looked... pretty plain. There was a single button on the side, resembling a home button. She pressed it, and the screen flashed to life.

"It's the laundry room..." Yaomomo stared at the screen. Hitoshi was crouched by the body, seemingly giving a prayer. Mirio and Tsuyu stood in the doorway and watched sadly.

"Why would this tablet display the laundry room? The only camera in there is the security camera..." Shouto muttered.

_The security camera... could this tablet really be connected to it? Is this the villains'? Or is this Mei's..? Oh, I know. I could get someone to go down and put their hand up to the security camera or something, to see if this is connected to it._

"Shouto. Did you guys find anything else in this room?" Yaomomo asked. "I'd like to test something with this tablet, and its connection to the laundry room."

"I would be fine with helping you," Shouto said. "But you have to do the body inspection first, remember? None of us have touched that body."

"Ah. Right." She set the tablet down and went around the table to Mei's corpse. _He's right. I have to do the autopsy._

Yaomomo got to work immediately. She easily found a pair of scissors lying around the lab and cut open the black tank top she was wearing, working around Mei's undergarment to inspect the incision in her chest. "It's a stab wound," she reported to Shouto. "Pretty deep. Deep enough to kill, I suspect."

She continued by rolling the body over onto its side, to inspect the blood coming out from under it. The Monokuma File had detailed a wound in her back; consistent information to the blood stain there. This prompted her to turn the body over completely, cut open the clothes, and inspect what was bleeding. "It's another stab wound in her back, like the File said," Yaomomo reported. "Also deep, but not as much as the chest wound."

"Alright," Shouto replied quietly.

She was patting down Mei's waist, since the Inventor had pockets, when her fingers hit something lumpy in one of the pockets. She reached inside and pulled out a small Ziploc baggie of what looked like little yellow cubes.

"What do you think these are?" Shouto asked, eyeing them. Yaomomo turned them over a few times in the light.

"There's silver-colored metal on opposite sides of it, and there's a small raised indent on one side. I think it looks like a battery," she replied, setting them down on the table. "I've never seen a battery looking like this, though. I wonder where Mei got them." _And why are they in her pocket?_

Yaomomo continued the patdown and completed the autopsy after that, determining that there were no other wounds on Mei's body. "I'm done," she said, wiping her hands off on her skirt. Not very sanitary, but with limited time remaining she had to work fast. "Can you do me a favor and go up to the laundry room?" she continued, turning to Shouto. He nodded. "I want you to go up to the security camera and wave your hand in front of it. I need to test whether or not this tablet connects to it."

"Mmh. That makes sense... I'll go right on up, in that case." Shouto turned and strode out the door, hastily making his way down the hall.

"H-Hey, Yaomomo..!" She turned around at the sound of her name being called, namely by Denki. He was still sitting by the boxes. "I found something... if you're not busy."

"Sure." Yaomomo picked up the tablet and carried it over to Denki, in order to keep an eye on it. "What did you find?" she asked him.

"Look." Denki pointed inside the box he was inspecting. Yaomomo turned immediately to see what he was referring to.

"Is this... a bloody sheet of fabric?" She picked it up by a clean corner to inspect it. The plain yellow cloth was apparently used to wipe away blood, considering the paint-like marks and dashes of pink on it.

"It looks like it. D-Do you think I should go through this box some more, in case there's anything else?" Denki spoke up hesitantly.

"Sure. Be careful, just in case there's something sharp." She set the fabric down and turned back to the tablet. Shouto hadn't appeared yet.

She sat there and waited for a minute to watch for his entrance. As she tapped her fingers on the floor, Shouto walked into the room. The feed had no audio but relatively good quality video, so Yaomomo watched as Mirio looked up at the two-tone-haired boy. His mouth moved; he was probably asking Shouto why he was here.

Shouto said something in reply, then began walking towards the back wall; the wall the camera was evidently planted on. However, he didn't go for the camera the tablet feed was coming from. He went to the right corner of the room, hovering awkwardly behind Hitoshi. He waved up at something over there, his eyes fixed on it.

_So this tablet's feed isn't from the security camera..._

"H-Hey- um, Yaomomo, what are you..?" Denki began to say something, before trailing off to lean over her shoulder, eyeing the tablet. "Oh, that... what is Shouto doing?"

"I had him go down and wave at the security camera. I wanted to see if this connected to it... but it doesn't. I find that weird," Yaomomo said.

"What if whoever owns this tablet set up a camera in the laundry room? So they can monitor it... but why would they need to do that?" Denki murmured.

"I... I think I have a vague idea of what it might be for. I don't want to say anything until I'm sure, though," the Detective-Affluent Progeny replied, deep in thought. She sighed and put down the tablet. "Hopefully Shouto will either stay there with Hitoshi or come back. Anyway, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, I found this..." Denki gingerly picked something up out of the box. It was a knife; a kitchen knife. It was smaller than the one found by Mashirao. It looked tiny in comparison to the megablade Yaomomo and Shouto discovered earlier, but it was still lethally sharp.

Yaomomo took the knife and turned it over in her hand. It looked clean, but there were dull streaks of something along its sides. "Thank you, Denki. This should be useful later."

She set it down atop the cloth, picked up the tablet, and got up. "Where are you going?" Denki asked from the floor.

"The laundry room," she replied. "I want to investigate something." She still held the tablet in her hands.

"Well, um, I have a comment to make. I'll be quick, I promise," Denki added hastily. He scrambled to his feet to properly talk to her. "Mei's device. The one she just finished building- it's gone."

"Huh?" Yaomomo glanced around the room and realized he had be correct. "You're right..." _Mei's device... the one that got broken, the one she insisted was a big help to us._

"I was thinking: maybe the killer took it. Or... or they broke it, and took the remains away," Denki said. "Either way, there's no trace of it here, unless some of the scrap metal in the boxes are the broken bits. N-None of this stuff looks that new, though."

"I'll think about it. Thank you for the notice." Yaomomo thanked Denki and got up, hurrying out of the room and upstairs to the laundry room, tablet in hand. Shouto turned as she entered.

"Ah. Yaomomo." He looked at the item in her hands, held to her chest. "The tablet. Was it the security camera?"

"No. I'm going to try and find the one it's connected to, though." She turned the tablet on to see herself on the feed, device in hand. She moved closer to the wall, shuffling from side to side until she was in the dead center of the feed, before walking forward. As she hit the wall, she looked to the tablet to see that she was on face-level with the camera.

She looked up and blinked, swiftly finding the tiny camera lens in one of the tile sealing lines. "Shouto, look. Here's the camera." She pointed at it as Shouto leaned in.

"If this is planted here, it's possible there's more traps hidden around the room," Shouto said. "It seems weird someone would put just a camera here to monitor who comes and goes in the laundry room, of all things."

"Let's look around for the rest of investigation." Yaomomo and Shouto walked around the room, inspecting the walls, behind shelves, and the ceiling tiles. In the corner where Mashirao's body was, Yaomomo looked up to see a ceiling tile that was slightly off in its place.

"Hey, Shouto. I found something." He hurried over at her call, as did Mirio. Tsuyu stayed put, sitting against the wall with Hitoshi; silent company and consolation.

They looked up at the tile in the far corner from behind the body. "How do we get to it?" Shouto asked.

"If it's moved, it's probably a trap. And it wouldn't make sense for a trap to only be triggered by hand. We should find something that trips it," Mirio suggested. Yaomomo and Shouto nodded.

They walked around the area, Yaomomo skirting around the body to get below the crooked tile. "Nothing's happening," she murmured.

"I have an idea," Shouto suddenly said. He took the button they'd found in the lab out of his pocket. "We've never tried pressing this. I want to see if it's connected to this, since it's a manual trigger for something."

He pressed the red button, and a startlingly loud sucking noise came from above. All three people jumped; Hitoshi and Tsu were surprisingly still by the shelf and body. Yaomomo looked up to see that the tile had been shoved to the side, revealing the space above the ceiling. The sucking sound had come from within that hole.

"So they were connected," Mirio muttered, staring up at the gap.

None of them had a chance to do anything else, however, as it was then that the monitor bleeped and came to life.

_"Ahem! This is a school announcement. It's time for the class trial! Please head down to the elevator ASAP!"_

"Oh. The trial's starting," Tsu murmured. She slid to her feet, her expression having lost its haunted touch. She looked gloomy at the prospect of another trial. _Our sixth one... and how many more will we be subjected to..?_

"Let's go. Monokuma won't wait," Shouto said. Yaomomo nodded and followed him towards the doorway. Behind her, she could hear Mirio coaxing Hitoshi to get up and come along.

The class met in the elevator room. As soon as the last person entered, the bronze gates slid open and everyone stepped inside. They slipped shut again, and the elevator began to descend.

_Another trial._

_Another murder._

_Another blackened._

_How much longer will this go on..?_

_Is it like Hitoshi said? That we should give up now, stop wasting our efforts when we're all going to be killed off in this game anyway?_

_..._

_No._

_No, I can't think that..._

_I want to feel that way, I really do; it would be so much easier. Hitoshi's right, in that matter..._

_But I also feel this strange urge to fight the trials. We have nothing to do but play the game... so I want to play it the right way._

_I'm going to play this game, and I'm going to clear this trial._

_After all, our lives are on the line._

The elevator slammed to a halt.


	36. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 5 - Class Trial

The trial room was as usual. The checked floor, the golden throne, the red carpet, the crystal chandelier, the high domed ceiling- it was all too familiar to Yaomomo.

_We've condemned so many to their deaths in this room._

_It's not fair, really..._

"Upupupu! And so we return for the sixth time!" Monokuma was sitting on the throne alone this time. Yaomomo was sure he still had Kurogiri and probably Spinner on watch, in case someone tried to attack him.

"Why are you alone? Are you so arrogant that we can't stand up to you that you don't need bodyguards?" Mezou asked coldly.

"Upupu... my friend this trial is currently in the room, actually, so I won't be alone soon!" Monokuma taunted, his beady black eyes fixated on the students. "Now then, you know the drill, you've done this half a dozen times now! Get to your podiums! It's time for the class trial!"

The class did as they were told; after all, what more could they possibly do?

_We can only play the game._

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"As per usual, I guess we will start with the Monokuma File," Yaomomo said with a sigh.

"Yeah... as per usual." Tooru was more down than usual as well; of course she would be, her best friend just died. Got murdered.

"..." Hitoshi was silent today, his eyes haunted, tears filling them and threatening to spill over. He was wiping them away periodically.

Yaomomo pulled the tablet out and read the information from it. "The victims were Mei Hatsume and Mashirao Ojirou. Mashirao died from decapitation, and Mei is bleeding from a wound in her back. There's a knife by Mashirao's body. Mei died at roughly two-thirty in the afternoon."

"So the missing info." Mirio paused. "Mei's cause of death, Mashirao's wounds other than his fatal one, Mei's murder weapon, and the order of the deaths."

"That's quite a lot..." Denki muttered.

"Let's tackle something a bit simpler first: Mei's cause of death," Shouto suggested. "We have Mashirao's, so let's get Mei's down."

_Mei's cause of death... this should be pretty easy. Almost too easy, but the solution is clear._

_>Select Something in the Image!<_

_..._

_>Chest Wound : I got it.<_

"It's clear that Mei died from being stabbed in the chest. There was a stab wound over her heart, and it was deep enough to puncture the vital organ," Yaomomo said. "It's pretty straightforward. I found no traces of poison, or anything of the likes anywhere at either crime scene."

"I-If that's cleared up... the next thing to figure out is to establish all of Mashirao's wounds," Tamaki suggested softly.

"In my autopsy, I found that other than his fatal wound, there was a stab wound in his arm," Yaomomo said. "It doesn't conclude much, but there may have been a tussle."

"Thank you, Yaomomo," Mirio said. "Your autopsies really do prove useful."

"I only do what I can to help," Yaomomo muttered. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, with that out of the way... we can deal with Mei's murder weapon later. First, we should see if we can determine the order of the deaths."

"The order... umm..." Denki mused. "Mei died at... two-thirty in the afternoon. And Mashirao was seen at lunch, which ended at o-one."

"Did anyone see Mashirao past one? Hitoshi?" Mirio lowered his voice as he turned to regard the violette. Hitoshi was unresponsive, his gaze shadowed as he stared at his feet; he only continued to weep silently, maybe even more hurt by Mirio's question.

_Of course... because..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Hitoshi's Account : I got it.<_

"No." Mirio returned his attention to Yaomomo. "Hitoshi didn't see Mashirao past one. They parted ways; Hitoshi went to the library, and Mashirao said he'd do some housekeeping in his dorm. Doing the laundry would be included in that, actually."

"If I remember correctly, Tooru saw Mei's body at about... two-forty," Denki spoke up again. "S-Some time must have elapsed between Mei was killed and Tooru found her, or Tooru would probably have seen them. So... one to two-thirty is a good estimate for both of the v-victims."

"Furthermore, Mashirao and Mei's bodies were discovered at the same time," Yaomomo said. "The body discovery announcements were pretty much one after another."

"With the evidence we have now, it's difficult to determine the order," Shouto agreed. "We should move on and clear up a few more things with each victim's individual case. Then we can connect them."

"Let's investigate Mashirao's case further," Yaomomo suggested. Hitoshi subtly winced at the mention of his dead lover; she tried not to feel guilty, probing at something the Psychic was obviously hurting from. _I have to, though. For the trial..._

"If we're to work together, let's discuss," Mirio spoke up. "Equal voices, equal debate."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Hitoshi's Account, Megablade, Knife - Mei, Misplaced Ceiling Tile, Camera<_

"From what we know right now, Mashirao evidently... evidently died in the corner, tangled up in a net. It looks like it's only on his shoulders and below," Tamaki said.

"He got his **head cut off...** maybe by the knife lying by his body," Shouto added.

"Maybe the killer had been hiding out in the room, waiting for someone to enter," Tsuyu suggested in a shaky voice.

"Or maybe they knew he would be there, or followed him," Mezou offered coldly.

"Anyway, we know for sure the killer attacked him," Nejire decided, **"Threw the net** on him, and decapitated him."

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Misplaced Ceiling Tile : Counter!<_

"No, the killer didn't manually throw the net," Yaomomo corrected.

"Hm? But how else could they get the net on Mashirao?" The Beauty Pageant inquired.

"They must've set a trap in the room," the ravenette replied. "Allow me to explain. There had been a misplaced ceiling tile in the corner where Mashirao had died. Shouto and I found a button that moved the ceiling tile when it was pressed, and a loud sucking noise came from above the ceiling, through that hole."

"So the killer set this trap to throw the net on someone and ensnare them," Mirio commented. "It was used to tangle up Mashirao, before they killed him... did they intend to do this to just anyone who entered the room? How'd they get him in the corner anyway?"

"No, other people have entered the laundry room today, in the morning," Denki cut in. "For example... I did. So did Mezou, I think; I saw him walking that way with some clothes." His voice got softer as he went, eyeing Mezou's cold stare nervously.

"The trap couldn't have been put up just after lunch, it's a bit complex," Yaomomo stated. "There's another part to it, as well. It explains how the killer knew Mashirao was there, and headed out to physically corner him and trigger the net."

_The second part of the trap, one the killer used to monitor the laundry room... I can see it..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Camera and Tablet : I see it.<_

"There was a camera in the room," Yaomomo explained. "It was connected wirelessly to a tablet. The killer could monitor the laundry room using this setup, and know when to head down. They were targeting Mashirao specifically; that much is clear, since they didn't do anything to anyone in the room this morning."

"This whole setup... the trap, the camera, this whole complicated plan. Not just anyone could've done this... only one person realistically could," Tamaki muttered. "Yaomomo... you must know, right?"

_Yes, only one person could have possibly created this elaborate trap... it's got to be..._

_>Select Someone!<_

_..._

_>Mei Hatsume : It's got to be you.<_

"...Mei. Only the Ultimate Inventor could've created all this complicated machinery," Yaomomo said coldly.

"Eh? Mei?!" Tooru cried out, but was ignored.

"Not only that, it also explains a certain something found by her body," Shouto added.

_The certain something Shouto speaks of, it's-_

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Buzzer : I got it.<_

"The buzzer, right?" Yaomomo regarded the Theorist. "She had it on her. It must've been connected to some part of her trap; she has no other reason to have it."

"Ooh, what if she made a sensor?" Nejire suggested brightly. "The buzzer alerts her when someone enters the room. Then she would check her tablet. She wouldn't have to watch the tablet all day, which frees up time for her and is less stressful. It's not out of her league, either."

"Good idea, Nejire!" Mirio commented. "That sounds plausible."

"Regardless, there's even another part of this case that Mei being the culprit reinforces," Yaomomo added. "It's..."

_>Select the correct answer:_

_Two Masks_

_Mashirao's Head_

_Megablade_

_Mina's Outfit<_

_>Megablade : I got it.<_

"...the megablade."

"Wh-what's a megablade?" Tsuyu asked.

"It's the big knife Shouto and I found in Mei's lab," Yaomomo replied. "Denki, Mezou, Tooru, and Shouto himself can all confirm."

"Yeah... that thing was pretty scary-looking," Tooru said, shuddering.

"I can confirm," Shouto also said. Mezou nodded silently.

"Shouto decided to call it a megablade," Yaomomo continued. "Anyway, it was a massive silver blade that could be folded up into its handle, like some oversized switchblade."

"Putting aside whatever you decided to call it, how is this thing supposed to connect Mei to Mashirao's murder?" Mezou asked.

"It has to do with Mashirao's murder weapon, right, Yaomomo?" Shouto suddenly cut in, regarding the Detective-Affluent Progeny.

Yaomomo returned his gaze evenly. _He can read my thought process like an open book... great minds think alike, huh?_

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: What was found by Mashirao's body, which is presumably his murder weapon?_  
_Left: Kitchen Knife_  
_Middle: Megablade_  
_Right: Black Ivory Knife_  
_Left : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: Is the kitchen knife Mashirao's murder weapon?_  
_Left: No_  
_Right: Yes_  
_Left : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: Why can't the kitchen knife be Mashirao's murder weapon?_  
_Left: Because Mashirao died from decapitation._  
_Middle: Because the knife is Mei's murder weapon._  
_Right: Because the knife is too small to behead Mashirao._  
_Right : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 4: What is Mashirao's real murder weapon?_  
_Left: Black Ivory Knife_  
_Middle: Megablade_  
_Right: Kitchen Knife_  
_Middle : Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: Kitchen Knife_  
_Question 2: No_  
_Question 3: Because the knife is too small to behead Mashirao._  
_Question 4: Megablade<_

_>Break!<_

"Mashirao's murder weapon... was the megablade," Yaomomo determined.

"Eh? The megablade was used to kill him?" Nejire remarked. "But I thought it was found with Mei, and the kitchen knife was found by Mashirao."

"That is true," Yaomomo said. "But that kitchen knife is too small and dull to slice off Mashirao's entire head from his neck so cleanly. The megablade is bigger and sharper, so it's more likely. Also, the megablade is unlikely to have been Mei's murder weapon as well, since the tip is curved and far from ideal for stabbing."

"The only person who could've created such a weapon is Mei," Tamaki added on. "The fact it wasn't used against her adds to the idea that she was the one using it against Mashirao."

"But what about the blood on the megablade?" Denki asked quietly. "If it were used to behead Mashirao, shouldn't it be covered in blood?"

_The evidence that explains this unusual fact... it's got to be that one..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Bloody Cloth : I can see it.<_

"There was a bloody cloth found in one of the boxes in Mei's lab, among other things," Yaomomo replied. "Mei's killer likely found her in the lab, killed her, and took her possessions. Anyone with an ounce of curiosity would test the megablade and realize it was covered in blood."

_Wait..._

_No... that doesn't sound right..._

But despite Yaomomo's second thoughts, the rest of the class appeared to be going along with it well.

"This all makes sense now," Tooru said shakily. "Mei killed Mashirao... before someone else killed her in her lab."

"Y-Yeah! Let's just vote for her now!" Denki exclaimed.

"Wait, no! We don't technically know the order of the deaths!" Tamaki retorted.

"But we've already figured her out," Mezou stated. "We should vote."

"But we don't know which body announcement was for who!" Shouto argued. "What if Mei's was first?"

"Guys, come on, stop being so la-" Yaomomo began, but was swiftly cut off by a certain monochrome bear.

_"HOLD ON!!!"_

_>Break!<_

"Upupupu~ A split opinion already?" Monokuma grinned. "To vote or not to vote... to decide what to do...

"The League of Villains presents their very own morphenomenal trial grounds..! Again!" The bear was delighted, switch and key already in paw. "Heeeeere we go!"

_Oh, now look at what being lazy has dragged us into... a Scrum Debate._

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_Should we vote for Mei?_

_Vote for Mei: Mezou, Tooru, Denki, Tsuyu, Nejire, Hitoshi_

_Don't Vote for Mei: Mirio, Tamaki, Shouto, Yaomomo<_

"Mei is Mashirao's killer, we should just vote for her!" Denki exclaimed.

_"Mirio."_

"Just because Mei was Mashirao's killer doesn't mean we should just jump to **vote!"** Mirio retorted.

"Mashirao was found first, so Mei's the blackened," Mezou stated.

_"Shouto."_

"Be logical. We don't know who was **found** first since the announcements were one after the other," the Theorist said.

"Let's just get this over with... why bother trying anymore?" Hitoshi whimpered, his voice trembling.

_"Mirio."_

"We have to keep **trying,** or else we'll only give in to despair!" The Ultimate Hope exclaimed.

"All this talk about hope and despair... we already figured out the case, why not go ahead and vote?" Tsuyu muttered.

_"Tamaki."_

"We can't just **vote,** we only figured out one case," Tamaki replied.

"If we've already gotten the identity of the blackened, why waste energy figuring out a meaningless case?" Tooru murmured.

_"I'll do it."_

"Mei's life was not **meaningless,"** Yaomomo said. "She has the right to at least be done justice in this trial."

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>W - A - D - A - W - S<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"Come on, guys, don't be lazy," Yaomomo chastised. "We only figured out Mashirao's case. We have to figure out Mei's too, because we don't even know which of them was discovered first."

"Well, what if we can't figure out the order and there are two different killers? How are we supposed to know who to vote for, then?" Denki pointed out.

"I'm... I'm not sure," Yaomomo said slowly. "But I'm sure there has to be some way to figure out the order of the announcements."

"Yaomomo, haven't you noticed?" She looked over to meet Mezou's stony gaze. "Can't you tell? We don't want to keep trying. Not when making it through a trial only means more suffering."

"I don't care if you've all given up or not," Yaomomo snapped back. "I don't care if you all want to die. I think a part of me had decided to give up long ago, too, when Fumikage died. But I kept going, for the sake of playing the game and pulling the class through to another day. Nothing you say can change that."

Silence followed her words. _Ha. Guess I really am just an Ultimate Detective..._

"If we've gotten that out of the way..." Shouto cut in gently. "Why don't we talk about something that's been bothering me about Mashirao's case for a while now?"

"Eh? What is it?" Nejire prompted.

"His body discovery. Only Mezou and I were present at the body when both announcements went off. The body discovery announcement only activates when three people have seen the body... so why did it go off when Mezou and I saw it?" Shouto mused.

"It must be because the first person to see it saw it before you two," Tamaki easily deduced. "But who is that person?"

"If you fess up now, you'll be free of suspicion, too," Mirio reminded the students. "But if you lie and get found out, it would make you look suspicious."

"So if anybody would like to say they saw the body before Shouto and Mezou, speak out now," Yaomomo demanded.

The trial room was quiet. Everyone looked from person to person, as if searching for someone who would step up. No one did, of course.

"Nobody? Nobody would like to confess they saw it?" Nejire sounded surprised.

_There's so many things that don't stack up when you look at the big picture,_ Yaomomo realized, her mind whirling. _The two masks, Mina's costume, the blue cloth in Mashirao's hand..._

"I think... it's because the person who saw him first knows they're suspicious," she said slowly.

"Come again?" Tooru asked.

"Mei... may not have been the killer of Mashirao after all," Yaomomo said.

_I have to explain to everyone, show them the hidden truth in this case that we didn't consider..!_

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Hitoshi's Account, Two Masks, Ochako's Outfit, Buzzer, Camera<_

"Mei may not have been Mashirao's killer? What are you saying?" Denki asked.

"Yeah! Only Mei could've set up this complicated trap!" Tooru agreed. **"None** of the rest of us have the smarts to make all that stuff."

"Yeah! It's pretty clear," Nejire said. "Mei set up a trap to kill Mashirao in particular for some reason, carried it out perfectly, and then got killed by someone else in her own lab!"

"No, that's not what I think happened," Yaomomo retorted.

"Then what did happen?" Tamaki asked. "Mei was definitely **involved** in the murder."

"Maybe Mei set up the entire trap, and masterminded it..." Shouto theorized. "But **never set a finger** on Mashirao himself?"

"But then why would she be dressed in Ochako's outfit?" Mirio pointed out. "She had to have gone down there personally!"

"I-If she was involved and personally approached Mashirao, maybe... oh!" Denki exclaimed. "What if... Mei had an **accomplice?"**

_"I agree with that."_

_>Two Masks : Consent!<_

"There's a lot of evidence that points to Mei having an accomplice," Yaomomo said. "But the most straightforward are the two masks we found in the boxes. She must've worn a mask when going down to kill Mashirao; just Ochako's outfit isn't enough to hide her identity. The second matching mask points to an accomplice being with her."

"But what if she set up two masks so we'd think that?" Tooru pointed out.

"There's more than just the masks," Yaomomo said. _What's another piece of evidence that proves it..?_

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_What's another piece of evidence that points to Mei having an accomplice?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_>MINA'S OUTFIT : I got it.<_

_>Break!<_

"We also found Mina's spare outfit in the lab," Yaomomo said. "There was even blood on it. It wasn't blood splashed onto a folded outfit, either, as a setup; it looked like the blood splashed on it while it was being worn. Mei was wearing Ochako's outfit; she was killed wearing it, considering the bloodstains from her wounds. I bet the accomplice wore Mina's outfit and used the second mask."

"Ah... an accomplice's presence would explain how only two people set off Mashirao's alarm," Shouto said. "The accomplice would fill the criteria of person one to see the body. Mezou and I are persons two and three."

"That makes sense and all, but Yaomomo, what did you mean when you said Mei might not have been Mashirao's killer?" Tsuyu asked.

"Looking at a specific piece of evidence, Mei's accomplice is more likely to have been Mashirao's killer, actually," Yaomomo explained. _And that evidence is..._

_>Select an item at this location!<_

_..._

_>Blue Cloth : I got it.<_

"When I investigated Mashirao's body... I found a scrap of blue cloth in Mashirao's hand. There's nothing containing blue cloth in the room, so I'm pretty sure he ripped it from someone's outfit," Yaomomo continued. "He got into close combat with someone wearing blue. Mina's outfit -the accomplice's outfit- has a blue ribbon and skirt. I didn't pay attention to see if the outfit had any rips, but it's the more plausible option here."

_"Not so fast!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold up!" Mirio cut in. "You can't just assume that blue cloth was from Mina's outfit, especially when you didn't check it for rips yourself!"

"But like I said, it's our only option!" Yaomomo retorted.

"Then explain! There's definitely other possibilities, I'm sure of it!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Mirio Toogata : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Laundry Room, Camera, Button, Mashirao's Clothes, Ochako's Outfit, Mina's Outfit<_

"Just because Mashirao had blue cloth in his hand doesn't necessarily mean it was from Mina's outfit!" Mirio began. "There's no proof it was from that outfit specifically. He could've ripped it from anyone, anywhere!"

"But why would he rip a part of someone's outfit off, or rip a random scrap of blue cloth from somewhere in the school? It only makes sense if he was forced to fight someone wearing blue," Yaomomo retorted.

"Yes, and? Maybe he was fighting some other person who had blue clothes," Mirio said. "Shouto also wears blue." A pause. _So does Tamaki,_ Yaomomo realized. _He's digging himself into something he doesn't want to._ "It's possible the blue cloth could've been from **anyone's outfit!"**

"Shouto's outfit has stripes. The scrap of cloth is too wide to somehow not cover a single stripe. Tamaki's blue tie is more likely, if you're going to go down this road," Yaomomo replied.

"O-Okay, then maybe the attacker grabbed **something blue** from somewhere in the room to throw at Mashirao, and Mashirao ripped it?" Mirio suggested, obviously not wanting to expand on the idea the blue cloth was from Tamaki.

_"I'll cut through your words."_

_>Laundry Room : Break!<_

"There is nothing in the laundry room that is blue. There's no blue clothes hanging up, there's no blue towels, and there's no blue clothes in any of the machines," Yaomomo said. "Even though the blue cloth coming from Tamaki's tie is possible, I doubt he would've been able to go from helping Mei to being casual, as Mirio found him so quickly. Tamaki, can you give an alibi from lunch to the body discoveries?" She turned to the Florist in question.

"Sure... Um, I stayed with Mirio after lunch, since Nejire went to her dorm," Tamaki began. "W-We went to the library together, and we saw Hitoshi there. We stayed there until about two, at which point Mirio went to the cafeteria to get a drink. He came back a few minutes later with two drinks, and we stayed in the library until two-twenty-five, when we went up to the kitchen."

"Ah! Did you notice if there were missing kitchen knives?" Shouto jumped to ask.

"I didn't exactly pay attention to that... but I think there were some empty slots on the knife rack," Tamaki replied.

"I can confirm his entire alibi, by the way," Mirio noted.

"If that's true, I believe his alibi is sound," Yaomomo said slowly. "Since Mei set a trap and was monitoring it with the camera to specifically find Mashirao, her accomplice would stay with her. Otherwise, there's the risk of Mashirao being the laundry room and the accomplice not being present, therefore making Mei taking an accomplice in the first place pointless. Tamaki being with Mirio for most of that timeframe makes it unlikely he's accomplicing Mei."

"That rules out all possibilities for other places Mashirao could obtain a scrap of blue cloth," Nejire concluded. "Except for that outfit of Mina's."

"There's also the blood on Mina's outfit," Tooru reminded. "So I agree with Yaomomo."

"In order to behead someone, you would need to get in close quarters with them," Denki added. "Th-That megablade... it isn't _that_ long. You'd need to get relatively close to Mashirao; close enough that he could rip something from the outfit. It also explains... um, it explains the bloodstain."

"So, to recap..." Shouto spoke up. "Mei had an accomplice, who wore the second mask and Mina's outfit as a disguise, while Mei wore Ochako's outfit and the first mask. The accomplice did the dirty work of actually beheading Mashirao, but in the process, Mashirao ripped a scrap of blue cloth from the outfit."

"That sounds about right," Tamaki noted. "B-But now... we have no leads on who the accomplice could actually be."

"Since Mashirao's case involves Mei, we should move onto her. It seems too convenient that someone would just happen to kill her right after she commits a crime. They might be connected," Shouto suggested.

"Alright... we should start with the basics of Mei's case, and analyze further from there," Yaomomo said.

"Well, first off, Mei was killed in her lab," Tooru stated. "Using... using what?"

"Mei wasn't killed using the Megablade, since she died from a stab wound to the chest," Denki said. "Didn't we find a knife in one of the boxes? Maybe she died from that."

"But... if that knife was used, wouldn't there be blood on it?" Tsuyu inquired.

_No, not necessarily... there's something that could explain how the knife was clean._

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Bloody Piece of Fabric : I got it.<_

"They could've used that bloody piece of fabric again to clean it off," Yaomomo said. "Both were hidden in the boxes, so it's likely."

"Then the killer was prepared," Mezou said. "They brought that knife, and they also bothered to clean it... why?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say they wanted to hide the identity of the murder weapon, for whatever reason," Shouto theorized. "It's a weak attempt, though. It might've worked if we didn't find that cloth, or if we didn't search the boxes at all."

"Now that we have the murder weapon, we should discuss," Nejire suggested. "We can piece it together."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Mashirao's Wounds, Tablet, Mei's Wounds, Monokuma File #5, Knife - Mei<_

"So, the killer brought a knife and a cloth with them, intending to kill Mei," Denki began. "They attacked her in her lab and killed her, leaving her on the lab table."

"Th-They then cleaned off the knife with the cloth and **hid the items,** but left everything Mei had on her in the lab," Tamaki continued.

"Why would they leave all that stuff there?" Tooru asked. "Doesn't all that stuff look suspicious?"

"Even if they investigated it a bit, they have no reason to hide it. It only makes Mei look bad, not them," Shouto said.

"Okay. So, to envision the scene..." Nejire began. "The killer... attacked Mei, stabbed her in the chest, and **when she tried to run** stabbed her in the back?"

"No, that doesn't sound right..." Mirio disagreed. "I think... the killer stabbed her in the back first and killed her while she was stunned. Basically, they attacked her from **behind."**

_"I agree with that."_

_>Mei's Wounds : Consent!<_

"Considering Mei has two wounds and the chest wound was fatal, it makes sense the stab in her back was inflicted first," Yaomomo said. "And it makes sense for the killer to attack her from behind, and then stab her in the chest fatally while she was stunned from the first attack."

_"W-Wait a second!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold on... if someone attacked Mei from behind like this, why didn't the accomplice do anything about it?" Tamaki inquired.

"What does that mean?" Yaomomo asked.

"I think I'll just show you," Tamaki said. "And I think you'll see it makes perfect sense."

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Tamaki Amajiki : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Camera, Buzzer. Hitoshi's Account, Buzzer, Missing Device, Mina's Outfit<_

"Well, think about it... Mei and her accomplice just finished killing s-someone. Mei hid her mask and and Mina's outfit; the accomplice would've helped her clean up and hide stuff. If the accomplice stayed with Mei, w-wouldn't they notice if something snuck up behind her and attacked her?" Tamaki reasoned. "Why wouldn't they do anything? They had- they had the megablade. Why wouldn't they **fight back?"**

"I'm not sure, honestly, now that you bring it up... maybe they had already left at that point, though," Yaomomo suggested.

"B-But something feels off," Tamaki insisted. "How w-would Mei's killer just so happen to kill her right after she commits a crime herself, and hide their evidence in the same place as Mei? It's so weird. They didn't even **take anything** of Mei's..."

_"I'll cut through your words."_

_>Missing Device : Cut!<_

"The killer actually did take something from Mei: her device. It was missing from the lab," Yaomomo said.

"What if she took it to her dorm for safekeeping?" Nejire asked.

"No, Mei always insisted on keeping it in her lab," Tooru said, her voice softening as she spoke her late friend's name. "For the sake of not having to move it back and forth, she said."

"Why would the killer take her device then?" Mezou asked. "It makes no sense."

_There's only one person who would take the device, who wouldn't want it used..._ Yaomomo suddenly realized. _That person... their identity as..._

_>Hangman's Gambit : Start!_

_Who would take Mei's device?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_>TRAITOR : I can see it.<_

"The traitor."

"Eh?" Denki started.

"The traitor. Only they would want Mei's device rendered unusable, if it was an opportunity for escape," Yaomomo reasoned. "The traitor killed Mei."

"And to add to that..." Shouto suddenly spoke up. "What Tamaki said earlier made sense. Why wouldn't the accomplice fight back? And how did both Mei and her accomplice _and_ Mei's killer just happen to hide their evidence in the same place?"

"...ah." _There's a solution to that,_ Yaomomo realized. _A slightly crazy one, but one that makes sense nonetheless._

_>Select the correct answer!_

_The accomplice left._

_The accomplice was helping Mei's killer._

_The accomplice is Mei's killer.<_

_..._

_>The accomplice is Mei's killer : I got it.<_

"It's because... what if the accomplice was Mei's killer?" Yaomomo suggested.

"Huh? So are you saying..?" Mezou murmured.

"Yes. Mei's accomplice killed both Mashirao and Mei. And even more than that... we can deduce that the accomplice is also the traitor," Yaomomo declared darkly.

"The traitor... Mei unknowingly teamed up with the traitor, who killed both her and Mashirao?" Tooru whimpered. "Why... why would they kill her..? Wouldn't they both trust each other to keep their mouths shut during the trial, if Mei let this person be her accomplice?"

"I'm not sure," Yaomomo murmured. "But it's clear the traitor didn't want Mei saying anything that revealed them, or something along those lines. Whatever the reason, the traitor is our blackened."

"So we have to figure out who the traitor is," Mirio concluded. "Since they killed both Mei and Mashirao, we won't have to deal with finding out who died first, either."

"Do we have a single lead right now?" Nejire asked.

"Well, the traitor wore Mina's outfit," Denki suggested. "So maybe they're a girl?"

"That doesn't mean much. Anyone can crossdress," Tsuyu commented.

_We're leadless._

_It's like we've run out of evidence..._

_If that happens... what would happen if we can't figure out who the traitor is?_

_..._

_No. I can't let that happen._

_For my class, for the people surviving... I don't care if they want to die._

_I want them to live._

_So I'll fight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the crossposts!! The next part is currently a WIP and will be published when I finish it.
> 
> Updates will likely be very inconsistent, depending on the length/contents of the part. It doesn't take too long to write Daily Life parts, but after that I have to write the investigation, which takes a while, and then the trial, which takes the same amount of time or longer.
> 
> I sometimes post progress notices on my Wattpad! If you'd like to, you can check that.
> 
> See you all later! ^-^ Thank you to all my readers! I love you all <33


	37. Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced - Part 6 - Class Trial

“It looks like… we’re leadless,” Shouto murmured, hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowed.

“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right,” Mirio affirmed. “The traitor… is the killer of both of our victims. But how are we supposed to figure out who this traitor is?”

“Is it hopeless?” Nejire whispered. “Are we all going to die if we don’t figure out who the killer is?”

“Guys… we can’t just give up like this,” Yaomomo spoke up. “You’re all going to die if we stop here.”

“Says you,” Tamaki murmured. “Weren’t you the one losing hope? The one who said everything was meaningless?”

“That’s… maybe that’s true,” Yaomomo replied, finding herself at a loss for words. “But… for some reason… maybe I don’t want you all to get executed. Is that such a bad thing?”

A lapse of silence. Tsuyu was gazing at her with thoughtful eyes. “Let’s go over the case again,” the Swimmer said, shattering the quiet. “Maybe we’ll see something new.”

“Good idea,” Yaomomo sighed. “Let’s debate.”

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #5, Camera, Net, Mei’s Wounds, Knife - Mashirao, Megablade<_

“Let’s review the order of events again, from the top,” Tsuyu prompted, surprisingly herself. _I’ll assume the haze in her head cleared a bit, if only just for today._ “First, Mei and her accomplice, the traitor, set up the trap and camera in the laundry room.”

“They were targeting Mashirao, and only Mashirao, for some reason,” Yaomomo added, hoping the others would continue the conversation.

“M-Mei set up a camera and tablet to monitor the room. She also provided disguises,” Denki said.

“This afternoon, when Mei caught Mashirao **alone** in the laundry room,” Tamaki said. “Sh-She and the accomplice put on their disguises, got their weapons, and went down.”

“Mei and her accomplice cornered Mashirao and set the trap on him,” Shouto said. “And the accomplice beheaded Mashirao.”

“They hid his head in the laundry, along with his clothes, and turned it on,” Yaomomo said. “Then they left and went back to the lab.”

“Once they got there, the accomplice turned on Mei and killed her,” Mirio finished.

“After that… we found the bodies,” Yaomomo added on. “We found **Mei’s body first.”**

_“No, that’s wrong!”_

_>Break…?!<_

“Huh? Shouto?” Yaomomo was surprised to find her cut off by a certain Theorist.

“What do you mean, Mei’s body was found first?” Shouto inquired. “You may have found her first, but remember that the two body announcements were nearly one after the other. It’s definitely possible Mashirao was found first.”

“I agree with him,” Mezou spoke up as well. “Mashirao is just as likely to have been found before Mei as vice versa.”

“Ah. That makes sense…” Yaomomo murmured. “So who died first?”

“Well, the first announcement went off as soon as I entered the room and saw the body,” Shouto replied. “Since Mezou found it first, and then found me in the hallway to see it.”

“Same here, though,” Tooru said. “Our group saw Mei, and the announcement went right off.”

“But what about the second announcement?” Mezou brought up. “There was a breathable pause between the first and second announcements, even if they were pretty close together. If they had really been found at the same time, the announcements would be one after the other with no pause.”

“Nobody showed up after Mezou and I, until you, Yaomomo,” Shouto spoke. “The second announcement couldn’t have been for Mashirao. It was for Mei.”

“Wait… but why wouldn’t Mei’s announcement be triggered by Tooru, Denki, and-” Yaomomo was about to ask, before something hit her. “Oh. Oh…”

“What? What is it?” Nejire asked hesitantly.

“The body discovery announcement rule. The announcement goes off if _three people other than the killer_ see the body,” Yaomomo said slowly. “When Tooru, Denki, and I saw Mei, her announcement was not triggered. If all three of us had been innocent bystanders, the announcement would’ve gone off. But it didn’t.”

“So that means… one of you is the traitor,” Tamaki finished for her.

Yaomomo felt a chill go through her spine. _Tooru. Denki. Me._

_One of us is the traitor…_

“H-Hey! Guys! I’m definitely not the traitor!” Denki yelped. “I would never..!”

_>Double!<_

“Well, I’m also not the traitor!” Tooru cried. “How could I ever kill Mei?!”

_>Triple!<_

“Well, I’m also not the traitor,” Yaomomo cut in. “We have to find out who it is!”

_“I would never be a villain!”_

_“I would never kill Mei!”_

_“I would never betray my class!”_

_>Mass Panic Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #5, Laundry Room, Hitoshi’s Account, Ochako’s Outfit, Megablade<_

“Come on, guys, believe me when I say…” Denki began.

“I would never kill Mei! She was my best friend!” Tooru wailed.

“After everything I’ve done for all of you, there is no way I could be a villain!” Yaomomo declared.

\---

“That I would never be a villain!” he continued.

“You being her friend makes it more likely that you were her accomplice,” Tamaki pointed out.

“Regardless of how you treat us,” Shouto retorted, “there is still no evidence backing you up.”

\---

“But you have no evidence backing you up; your argument is insufficient,” Mezou commented.

“Even if I was her best friend… even if I loved her…” Tooru sobbed.

“Yeah! And you, Yaomomo, as a detective, should know that best!” Mirio added.

\---

“C-Come on!” Denki wailed. “I could never kill my friends…”

**“I WOULD NEVER HELP HER KILL SOMEONE!”** she wailed, tears threatening to spill over her red eyes.

“There may be no evidence defending me…” Yaomomo said.

\---

“Eijirou, Katsuki, Mina, Hanta… all of them killed in this game…” Denki murmured.

“It’s okay, Tooru. It’s just… there’s no evidence directly putting you in the clear,” Nejire reassured.

“...but there is also **no evidence** in the defense of any of us!” she finished.

_“N-No, that’s wrong..!”_

_>Break..?<_

“Denki has an alibi,” Tsuyu said firmly. Her eyes darted left and right and her expression was unfocused, but her words were clear.

“Eh?” Yaomomo was surprised by the cut in from the ill girl.

“I said, Denki has an alibi,” she repeated. “He was with me since after lunch.”

“Th-That’s right!” Denki affirmed. “Nejire usually accompanies her, but she was sleepy, s-so she asked me to do it!”

“I did ask Denki to walk with her,” Nejire added.

“If that’s the case, then Denki’s in the clear,” Tamaki said. “Which means…”

“The traitor…” Tooru turned to stare Yaomomo in the eyes.

“Is one of us.” Yaomomo stared right back at her, gazing into her vibrant crimson eyes.

_The traitor, huh…_

_Evidence. I need evidence against Tooru…_

_…_

_Maybe… maybe that one occurrence right after we woke up from anesthesia, a few days ago…_

“I believe there may be a piece of evidence in my favor,” Yaomomo said slowly, turning away from Tooru. “Remember when we were all thrown into this trial room after Monokuma knocked us out, during the hero rescue operation?”

“Yeah. We were calling out names to make sure everyone was here,” Shouto commented. “What about it?”

“Well, remember how there was a pause between the sequences of names called?” Yaomomo prompted. _This is probably a stretch… but it’s worth a shot._

_~*Flashback*~_

_"I'm Mashirao, and Hitoshi's with me. Seven," the tailed boy said. _

_A heartbeat of silence followed, as if the remaining five were musing who should go first without running over each other. A light thump could be heard against the floor, as if someone moved on a carpeted floor._

_"I'm present. Shouto. Eight." The heterochronous Theorist started the count back up._

_~*Back to Present*~_

“That thump during that lapse of silence… it sounded like someone had just entered and hit the ground with their feet. As if someone were dropped out of a portal into the room. It would make sense for the villains to talk to their traitor about what to do next,” Yaomomo reasoned.

Mezou scoffed. “That just sounds like you’re trying to grasp at random strings. Try something more solid.”

“I h-hate to say it, but I agree with Mezou…” Denki murmured. “There’s no evidence in either of your defenses.”

_No… no, no, no, there has got to be something…_

_I have to think…_

“Hey, Yaomomo!” Tooru called out. “If you’re really intent on trying to paint me as the traitor… Then I guess I’ll have to give it my all too, right?”

“What do you mean?” Yaomomo asked hesitantly.

“I’m sure there’s got to be evidence against you!” Tooru declared. “I’m not the traitor… I know I’m not the traitor! So that means you have to be it, right?”

The Artist’s eyes were nearly manic as she glared at Yaomomo with a challenging stance. _She’s not backing down._

_Well, neither am I._

“If you’ve really got evidence against me, then go ahead,” Yaomomo prompted calmly. “I’ve got plenty against you, too.”

_I can’t go down here._

_No way. Not in a hundred trials could I go down by some villain’s false claims._

_I have to protect my class. Protect them from the traitor._

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Tooru’s Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1<_

“Yaomomo, you’ve got to be kidding me!” <> (W) (W) (W) (W) (A) (A)

“Me? The traitor? There’s no way!” <> (A) (A) (D) (D)

“You’ve got no solid evidence against me!” <> (S) (S) (S) (W) (W)

“There is literally NOTHING you can put in your own defense!” <> (W) (W) (W) (S) (S) (A) (D)

“I have evidence, all right, and I intend to beat you with it!” <> (D) (D) (D) (S) (S) (A) (A) (A) (S)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

“Look, so after lunch…” <> (W) (W) (W)

“...you went unaccounted for for quite a while, right?” <> (W) (A) (A) (D) (D) (D)

“When Denki, Tsuyu, and I found you…” <> (S) (S) (S) (W) (W)

“...you were in the cafeteria making tea!” <> (W) (W) (W) (S) (S)

“That leaves a big gap between lunch ending and the body discoveries!” <> (S) (S) (S) (A) (D) (D) (D) (W)

“Therefore, you have no alibi!” <> (D) (D) (D)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

_>You can’t see anything… anything at all..!<_

“Yaomomo, quit insisting already!” <> (W) (W) (A) (A)

“You know I’m right…” <> (S) (S) (D) (D)

“You know you’re just a filthy villain…” <> (W) (W) (D) (D)

“You know you’re a traitor and a mole!” <> (S) (S) (A) (A)

“So just stop trying to fool us already!” <> (W-A-S-D)

“Just shut up!” <> (W) (A)

“Shut up…” <> (W-A-S-D)

“Shut up…” <> (W-A-S-D)

“Shut up!” <> (W-A-S-D)

“Shut your mouth, you dirty villain!” <> (W) (A) (S) (D)

_>Final Blow!<_

_>W = Katsuki’s_  
_A = During_  
_S = Rescue_  
_D = Helped<_

“You have no evidence to even defend yourself, you liar!”

_“Yes, I do.”_

_>D-A-W-S : HelpedDuringKatsuki’sRescue : Break!<_

“Tooru. I’ll acknowledge one thing… you’re right I have no way to find definitive evidence that pins it on you within this case,” Yaomomo began. “But I do have something that works roughly in my own favor.”

“Oh? What is it?” Tooru’s voice was pushy; irritated.

“Back when we were heroes in training… Katsuki got captured by the villains. You got knocked out by the pink gas in the woods. I got away with just a head injury though, so I got a tracker onto a Nomu and created a device to follow it, remember?” Yaomomo looked to the rest of the class.

“Yes… it was a great help to the rescue operation.” Shouto’s eyes were misty as he said that. _Out of the six people who were involved in that incident… only two remain alive today._

_Funny who quickly things changed, huh?_

“Well, I willingly helped by tracking the Nomu. On my _own accord._ The only person with me was Yosetsu, a One-B student who helped me put the tracker on. If I were the traitor, I wouldn’t pop up with the idea of tracking the Nomu to find the villains base and raid it, especially when I was injured. I could have just faked that my injury was too much, or even faked being unconscious. Even easier, I could’ve just done nothing. A mole wouldn’t just give the heroes a huge weapon on their own free will,” Yaomomo explained.

“Meanwhile, on the other hand… Tooru, you were unconscious at the hospital until after the raid. You didn’t know about the Katsuki Rescue Operation, or my device. You couldn’t have provided the villains intel on the rescue operation going after them, which was why the villains weren’t prepared for the attack.” Yaomomo stared pointedly at the Artist. “This is just one piece of evidence that points to you.”

“S-So what? Give me more evidence!” Tooru exclaimed. She was noticeably getting on edge, though; her stance was more agitated. Her eyes were fixated on Yaomomo with a burning intensity.

“Well, how about the USJ attack? Being invisible, you were completely under the radar the entire time. Nobody knew definitively where you were; only you could provide an account saying you were in the Landslide Zone. You have no alibi. You easily could’ve stayed in a safe area while completely invisible, since the villains would have no wish to get their mole hurt or killed.” Yaomomo met Tooru’s startled eyes. “There’s plenty of evidence to use against you, Tooru. But you can’t pull anything out against me.” 

“None of th-that relates to this case, though! You’re only digging up old information!” Tooru was still desperately trying to grasp for something to defend herself.

“Tooru, stop trying to find something to put on your side,” Mirio cut in. “We’ve already established that the killer of our case is the traitor, right? By finding the traitor, you find the killer. It all goes hand in hand.”

“I-Is it true, T-Tooru?” Denki faltered. “Did you… kill Mashirao and Mei?”

“O-Of course not! I could never… kill Mei..!” Tooru’s eyes were welling with tears, spilling over and sliding down her cheeks.

But Yaomomo knew she was lying. _A traitor. A liar._

_A murderer._

_A villain._

“Ignore her. Come on, guys. Let’s just go over the case again before we vote,” Yaomomo prompted gently. “Then we can vote.”

_And get this over with._

_Get us out of this wretched place._

She sighed, as if simply exhaling would release all of the weight in her heart. “Here is what happened.”

_>Closing Argument : Start!<_

“This whole case began when the traitor motive was announced. Mei decided to kill Mashirao; the reason why is unsure, but it’s clear she was specifically targeting him exclusively. She decided to enroll in the help of her best friend to assist her in her murder plot.

“However, unbeknownst to her, Mei’s friend happened to be the traitor of the class. A villain. She blindly trusted them, which would eventually lead to her demise.

“The two of them set up a trap to isolate Mashirao. Mei crafted a camera, a sensor, a buzzer, a tablet, a button, and a piston-operated falling net. She placed the camera and sensor in the laundry room. The sensor was connected to the buzzer, and the camera to the tablet. That way, if someone were to enter the laundry room, Mei would be alerted, and she would check the tablet to see who it was. She was monitoring the room; waiting for a chance to catch Mashirao there, alone. The net was placed in the ceiling in the corner, for use once the murder was underway. The button activated it.

“On top of the trap in the laundry room, Mei and her accomplice created disguises. They stole spare outfits from two of the deceased: Ochako and Mina. They also crafted full-head masks. Also, Mei created a rather peculiar weapon… the megablade. A massive curved knife, which could be retracted into a small swiftblade handle.

“After a few days, the two finally caught Mashirao in the laundry room alone, washing his clothes. They threw their costumes on and rushed down, carrying a bag of supplies: the megablade, two kitchen knives, a cleaning cloth, and the button. The buzzer was still in Mei’s pocket, as well as a mysterious set of batteries.

“Mei and her accomplice barged into the laundry room, keeping Mashirao in. Mei’s accomplice was holding the megablade and the button, while Mei held the bag. The killer likely backed Mashirao into the corner, using the megablade as a threat. They hit the button and the net dropped down onto Mashirao’s back when the trap activated. Small sacs on the net, filled with some sort of acidic substance, burst, burning him as well. All of these contributors -the megablade, the net, the acid- were to panic Mashirao, so that he would accidentally tangle himself in the net.

“Mei’s accomplice got into close quarters with Mashirao- close enough that Mashirao could grab something from their outfit. Mashirao reached out and managed to snag a scrap of the blue ribbon off of Mina’s outfit, which was the disguise the killer was wearing. The killer, using the megablade, sliced Mashirao’s head clean off his neck.

“Their job completed, the killer and Mei began setting up the scene. Mashirao’s head was thrown in the washing machine, along with his clothes and some laundry detergent. The machine was turned on. Also, they took one of the kitchen knives, stabbed it into Mashirao’s arm to cover it in blood, and left it at the scene. They cleaned the blood off of the megablade using the cloth in their supply bag, and folded it up. Mei and her accomplice left after that.

“But the case is not yet over. As soon as Mei and her accomplice got back to Mei’s lab, the killer -her accomplice- turned on her. They used the second kitchen knife in the bag to stab Mei once in the back, before delivering a fatal blow to her chest. If I had to imagine for a moment, I could see Mei feeling shocked as her friend, the friend she trusted enough to kill someone with her, betrayed her.

“The killer, satisfied with their work, placed Mei’s body on the worktable. They took her device; it’s unknown where it went, but they likely hid it somewhere nearby, or broke it and hid the pieces. Regardless, they followed to hide the rest of the items used in the murder in various boxes in Mei’s lab. The only thing they could not hide was the costume Mei was wearing; we found her still wearing Ochako’s outfit. The rest of the equipment was scattered around the room, including atop the worktable.

“Their own dirty work done, the killer finally had to make up a fake story for themselves. They ran to the cafeteria crying crocodile tears, alerting Denki, Tsuyu, and I that they found the body.

“And all this… the murder of both Mashirao and Mei, the backstabbing of your supposed best friend… it was you, wasn’t it? Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Artist… and the traitor of Class One-A.”

_>Break!<_

Silence filled the trial room. Yaomomo could hear a ringing in her ears, like the buzz of air shattered by a bullet. The atmosphere was electric, chills running through her palms in nervous energy.

_It’s over. It’s done._

_Tooru, the traitor..._

The Artist was standing, cowering, on her podium. Her crimson eyes flickered from side to side, fear alight in her expression. Her hands were clasped together over her collarbone, like a quivering child awaiting chastisement.

“Come on, guys.” Hitoshi’s voice was cold; tense. “Let’s vote for this bitch already.”

Yaomomo felt a pang in her chest. There was a sort of frozen anger in his tone; a sort of rage that, when unleashed, would strike fear and agony into anyone his words graced. Sympathy washed over the Detective as she gazed at his coiled stance.

“Listen to the Psychic, kiddos!” Monokuma grinned. “It’s voting time!”

The class collectively looked down to their levers, pointing them to the blackened of choice. As the last vote was placed, the slots machine made a small ringing noise, announcing voting time as over.

“Puhuhu! Who will be chosen as the blackened..? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?”

The slots machine burst to life.

_Spinning, spinning, spinning icons of our faces…_ Yaomomo stared, entranced, at the blinking lights and flashing images. _Tooru..._

All three slots landed on the Ultimate Artist’s portraits. The machine cheered in victory, all glitter and shine.

_Traitor._

_>Class Trial : End!<_

“So, it really was you…” Denki whispered, his voice haunted. “Tooru…”

Yaomomo dragged her eyes away from the flashing slots machine, directing them to the girl in question instead. “A villain…”

_I was right._

_Of course I was right._

Tooru herself was now staring down at her feet, her face cast in shadow. Her hands were clenched in fists, gripping her dress jacket and bunching up the edges. _Is she scared? Ashamed? Angry? Disappointed?_

Then she began to laugh.

“Fufu…” A small giggle.

“Tooru?” Nejire’s voice was small. Sad. Awash with concern. “Are you..?”

“Fufufu… fufufufufu…” Tooru was still giggling. There was a smile on her face. _Why is she..?_

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Tooru raised her head to meet her classmates’ stunned stares. She lifted her hands, palms skywards, arms outstretched. “Oh, this is just wonderful!”

A chill ran through Yaomomo’s entire body like an electric jolt. _Those eyes._

Tooru’s eyes were manic; gleaming crimson, swirling shades of red and magenta like pools of blood, blood that she helped shed. There was a sort of ecstatic insanity in her eyes. A sort of… _despair._

Her expression was horribly delighted, especially for someone who’d just had their role as a mole revealed. _She’s mad,_ Yaomomo realized. _Absolutely crazy._

“Tooru…” Tamaki murmured. “What happened to you?”

“What happened to _me?”_ Tooru grinned. “What happened was I was forced to be a goody two-shoes for the last almost-year! A hero? What a joke. I wish they picked Saya-chan for this U.A. infiltration job, but oh wells.” She pouted, a mask of innocence plastered all over her face.

“Eh? Then that means…” Shouto’s eyes were sharp as they regarded Tooru.

“You’re a villain. A true villain. Not just someone who was dragged into this by the League, or someone brainwashed into helping them,” Mezou said coldly, his face stony.

“Thaaaaat’s right! This is me! The real me! Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy!~” Her expression was alight with mania. She could barely contain herself, it seemed.

“Ultimate Spy, huh?” Mirio muttered.

Yaomomo could only stare at her, stare at someone she once saw as a hero, as a classmate, as a friend. A happy girl, an innocent little ball of boundless energy… it was all fake.

_Fake. Everything was just a show, a trick, a mole dangled right before our eyes by the villains._

_And we didn’t even know it._

“Tooru… why?” The trial room fell silent. Yaomomo turned to Hitoshi, who had spoken out. He was glaring at Tooru, his eyes pointed in fury. He was trembling, his jaw tense. Tears welled over his eyes, slipping down his face like a river of crystals.

“Huuuh? What is it, lover boy?” Tooru taunted.

“Why did you kill them?” Hitoshi asked, his voice shuddering. “Mashirao and Mei… how could you kill both of them so cruelly? Why did you… why did you have to be the traitor? Both of them trusted you… so why did you betray them?”

“Well… first off, killing these two benefitted me,” Tooru said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Hitoshi’s breath hitched. “Mei-chan came to me after the traitor motive was announced. After some intensive -but very misguided- theorizing, she came to the conclusion that Mashi was the traitor~

“Of course, I went along with it. It would be worse if she found out I was the real traitor; that would destroy the whole trust thing I built up with her. She designed the trap. She only wanted to capture him, but obviously I had other ideas.” Tooru winked, a small giggle sliding off her tongue.

“I suggested she create the megablade. Originally, I told her it was to scare Mashi into the corner, so we could drop the net, and then make him panic enough by waving it around him so that he got tangled. The tip is curved to it’s super tough to try a little stabby-stabby work with it, so that Mei-chan wouldn’t get suspicious. When we got to trapping him, though, I took my opportunity and sliced his head clean off~! Of course Mei-chan was horrified, but I convinced her it was the right thing to do, since he was the traitor. She begrudgingly took my word, the trusting little honey she is~” Tooru giggled, her hand to her mouth. “Fufu… she was a wonderful girl.

“When we got back to her lab, I promptly killed her. It was a shame really… I did love her. But I couldn’t risk her spilling in the trial. I hid the evidence and took the device. That’s it.” Tooru smiled as she concluded her side of the tale. “So how ‘bout that? What do you think?”

“Tooru…” Tsuyu murmured. “You… you… you’re hungry.”

Yaomomo blinked. Tsuyu’s voice had swapped from being haunted and angry to an everyday tone, casual and relaxed. _Eh..? What..?_

“Hmm? I’m hungry?” Tooru sounded genuinely confused. “Yes… I suppose I’m hungry… for death and despair.” She lowered her voice dangerously, bouncing back swiftly, keeping everyone’s focus on her.

“You’re a fucking psycho,” Hitoshi hissed. The room went silent again. “Tooru… you…”

“Eh? What did I do?” Tooru cocked her head thoughtfully, finger to her chin. “Do you mean what I did to Mashi and Mei-chan? Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re happy floating around up there with their heads in the clouds.”

Hitoshi seethed at the Spy’s words. “Y-You have no right to say their names… Mashirao… and Mei… you have no right to speak of them like that when you betrayed them!”

“Oh? Does that set you off?” Tooru grinned, clearly enjoying the argument Hitoshi was digging himself into. “Mashi, Mashi, Mashi… does it hurt to know you’re responsible for your precious boyfriend’s death?”

“E-Eh?!” Hitoshi looked startled for a moment, his eyes lighting up with agony, before he fell back into a cloak of anger. “Bullshit… you killed him, not me! I’ve only ever wanted the best for him, while you betrayed him!”

“But think about it this way…” Tooru grinned sadistically, her teeth flashing. “If you had stayed by Mashi’s side this afternoon, instead of selfishly wanting to stay by yourself in the library, then he wouldn’t have died today. Mei-chan and I, we had to catch Mashi alone… your presence would’ve kept us at bay. If you had stayed with him all the time without fail… well, we probably would’ve given up eventually.

“You could’ve saved a life, but you didn’t. You didn’t, because you were selfish and let him go alone.” Tooru continued pushing, jabbing at all of Hitoshi’s weak points, hitting him where it hurt. Yaomomo winced just hearing Tooru’s words, even though they weren’t related to her in the slightest.

Crystalline tears were cascading down Hitoshi’s face in a steady stream of liquid pain. He silently glared at Tooru, his eyes filled with grief and loathing, unable to speak. Yaomomo could tell he was shaking.

“You idiot,” Tooru scowled, enjoying every moment of the hurt she was inflicting on Hitoshi. “You bastard. Murderer. Guilty.”

“Hey. Tooru.” Mirio cut into the girl’s knife-edged rambling, a warning tone in his voice. “Stop.”

Tooru let out a long sigh. “Awwww. Ruining my fun, Mr. Hero?”

“Tooru… why _did_ you choose to be a villain..?” Nejire whimpered. Her voice was small; weak. “You were… going to be such a good hero, had you stayed in Yuuei…”

“Pah! I never intended to stay one moment longer than needed in this wretched hero school, much less play false hero,” Tooru spat. “I’ve been a villain for a while now, since my second year of junior high. I was recruited by the League.”

“Wh-Why..?” Denki’s voice was hushed. “Why would you accept those villains’ offer?”

“Because I wanted to, _duh!”_ Tooru said that like it were the simplest thing to understand in the world. “All my life… All my life, I’ve had to fight to be noticed. Because of my quirk, of my cold personality, I was always forgotten. Ignored. Left out. I could skip classes easier than anyone, even if the teachers would notice there was nothing at my desk.”

“Cold… personality?” Yaomomo murmured, eyes fixed nervously on the girl with the pink highlight in her hair. _A highlight the color of blood._

“That’s right~! Little ol’ me… cold and shy. Socializing was hard, y’know?” Tooru said. “I was quiet and seldom spoke to anyone throughout junior high. I think I had a friend in primary… when I was little. But she left me. Left me for another girl, because she was more fun to play with and better and smarter than me. Stupid. She was my first target when I became a villain.

“Anyway, in my second year of junior high, I was walking with a group of girls in my class. I think they forgot I was even there for a while. Anyway, a villain jumped out and attacked me and one of my classmates. The rest of the girls managed to band up and get their friend free, but then they ran for it, even though I screamed for their help. Abandoned me.” Tooru scoffed, as if the very memory made her mad.

“But that was when Tomura found me. Saved me from that villain who was attacking me. He said he knew about how I was mistreated by my peers, how he understood, how he could help me. I took up the offer because… well, what other choice did I have?” Tooru smiled. “That’s how I got into the League!~”

Yaomomo stared at the Spy with dark eyes. “You bastard,” she muttered. “Why didn’t you pull out of the League the moment you realized they were villains?”

“Because I didn’t want to, obviously,” Tooru huffed. “Geez, is it so hard to understand? I became a villain _because I wanted to._ My classmates, who all wanted to be heroes? Pathetic. Heroes are supposed to help people, right? Nobody helped me. Looked out for me. Some heroism.”

Silence flooded the trial room as everyone gazed at Tooru, wondering how they could’ve been so wrong, _so ever fucking wrong_ about their friend, their classmate, the girl whom they thought was a hero.

_A happy, optimistic person who wanted only the best for everyone._

_It was all a lie._

_So this is the real Tooru._ A crazy bitch, a villain from head to toe.

“Welp, that was uneventful. If you’re not going to mind, I guess I’ll be going now,” Tooru said cheerily. “Sayonara~”

“W-Wait! Tooru! Where’re you going?” Denki spluttered. “Are you gonna- gonna-” His words died in his mouth, but the horror in his expression finished his question for him.

_Are you gonna execute yourself?_

For being the blackened, for killing her best friend… _Would Tooru seriously be far enough gone that she’d follow the rules of the Killing Game?_

But Tooru merely laughed. “What, you think I’d kill myself? Are you an idiot? Why the hell would I do that? After all I’ve accomplished, that would absolutely be the dumbest way to go. Only someone as psycho as… um… oh!” Tooru’s eyes brightened up. “Only someone as psycho as Junko-senpai would do that!”

“...Junko?” Mirio stared at the traitor, confused. “Who’s Junko? The name rings a bell for me…”

“Oh, nothing. Just a villain friend of mine.” Tooru brushed it off. “Anyway, off I go!” She gave a little wave and was about to turn on her heel to step off the podium.

“B-But… you’re still technically a participant of the Killing Game the League created for us,” Tamaki reasoned, making the girl stop dead on her feet. “You must abide by the rules of the Game. The League’ll give you an execution, I’m sure.”

“But look at it this way,” Tooru cut in, whirling around to point at him with one finger. “I’m a villain. I _created_ the rules. I _enforce_ the rules. The rules _can’t_ control me.”

"EHH! Wrong!"

"Huh?!" Tooru whipped around to face the throne, from which Monokuma had spoken out. "What do you mean, _wrong?!"_

"The Killing Game is still the Killing Game, and you're still a participant of it, no matter your role outside of the Game!" Monokuma barked. "Tamaki's right! You're off to the guillotine, Miss Hagakure!"

"N-No..." Tooru murmured, panic alight on her face. "No... after everything I've done for you... please..."

"Nuh-uh! Rules are rules! You're a participant of the game; an Ultimate. So you must suffer the execution!" Monokuma exclaimed, a grin plastered across his face.

Tooru, on the other hand, looked positively horrified. "Hey... Monokuma... that's..."

"Don't blame me! I'm only following through the League's orders! Speak to Shigaraki yourself!" The bear's robotic red eye gleamed sadistically.

On cue, the monitor on the ceiling flickered to life. Shigaraki's figure was displayed on its screen. He wore an expensive-looking fur coat, his crimson eyes seeming to glow through the fingers of the hand on his face. "It's true, Tooru. It's still the Game. You killed. You got caught. Now you face an execution," he drawled.

"No... Shigaraki, no..." Tears welled up in Tooru's magenta eyes. "After all I've done... you're just going to betray me again? Just like all those other people?"

"Puhuhu! Sorry! The rules are rules, no matter who you are!" Monokuma laughed. The monitor flickered to the darkness again.

"But... I'm on your side..." Tooru sobbed. Tears, like drops of diamond, were sliding down her cheeks. _Impure diamonds, tainted with chemicals and poison._ "Would you really kill a useful member of your League?"

"Pah! With all our power, I'm sure there's plenty of other perfectly capable villains out there for our numbers," Monokuma reasoned. "And now, without further ado..."

"No... please, no!" Tooru wailed.

"I have prepared a very special punishment for Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy!"

"No... please..." Tooru murmured.

"Are you ready?" Monokuma grinned, flashing his pearly whites.

"Saya-chan... Himi-chan... Junko-senpai..!" Tooru sobbed. "I don't want to die... I want to keep having fun with you all..."

"It's PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIME!"

"Please don't leave me!"

_>GAME OVER_

_Tooru Hagakure has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

Tooru was thrown into a glass tank in the middle of a small, sterile room. It looked like a science lab; there was a sign next to the tank, which the camera panned to. _'DANGER! TOXIC ZONE'_ it read. The lights were glaring bright, glowing from the ceiling.

There was no escape out the tank. Tooru pressed her palms against the glass, peering towards the iron door on the other side of the room, separated from her by the tank wall. She banged on the glass with her fists, screaming. Her voice was muffled through the tank, making it sound as if she were drowning.

The iron door opened. Monokuma stepped through, dressed in a white lab coat. He waddled up to the table in the middle of the room, in front of the tank. He leaned over the controls on the surface of the iron desk.

His paw clicked a red button labeled _'Release'._

_>Tooru Hagakure's Execution: Bathing in Pleasure : Executed!<_

Immediately, the back wall of the tank -which was part of the wall for the actual room- began to seep a strange pink liquid. Tooru whirled around in the tank and stared at it, watching the liquid slip down the wall, rapidly increasing in speed and amount. It pooled on the floor, thick and hot.

_Pooling like blood._

The blood-like liquid touched the soles of Tooru's sandals, and immediately the shoe sizzled and melted wherever the blood touched. She yelped and jumped away from it, but it was useless. The pink substance was spreading, rushing out of the wall in a thick curtain of magenta.

Everyone could only watch as the liquid rose within the tank, slowly filling it with sticky magenta fluid. Tooru was screaming, flailing her limbs. Her clothes were disintegrating in it, leaving her body covered in the pick liquid, likely burning away at her skin. Her eyes were frantic; manic, desperate, filled with tears.

The tank was filling with blood.

And Tooru was drowning in it.

Everyone could only watch as the liquid sloshed over her head and hit the top of the tank.

Silence.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three.

There was no more movement from inside the tank.

Monokuma jumped up from the desk and waddled up to the tank. He rapped on the glass with his paw.

Nearly instantly, a pale hand suddenly appeared from inside, pressing against the glass.

Monokuma started in fear and ran out the room.

The lights turned off.

Everything went dark.

Yaomomo could only stare blankly at the screen as it flickered to nothingness.

Slowly, everyone began to turn to look at each other, confused and fearful after the odd execution.

"Wh-What just happened..?" Denki murmured.

"It doesn't matter now. Tooru drowned in the tank," Shouto reasoned.

_Yeah. There's no other option. There was no escape..._

_She could only stand there and wait to drown, wait for death to take her._

_Fitting for a wretch like her._

"Let's go." Yaomomo said, her voice cold. She turned and stepped off of her own podium, heading for the elevator. With no other choice, the rest of the class followed.

_Liar. She was a liar._

_That rat..._

_Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy, a traitor, a member of the League of Villains..._

_How could we have ever been so wrong about her?_

_How could we have ever been so wrong about any of our friends, all of the blackened who have killed already?_

_How many more will there be?_

_It doesn't matter now, does it?_

_They're all gone anyway._

_>Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced : The End | Surviving Students : 10 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item Obtained: Full-Head Mask<_


	38. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 1 - Daily Life

They all changed after that trial.

Tamaki could feel it in the air.

The remaining survivors had gathered in the dining hall two mornings after Tooru’s execution. Nobody was going to eat; who had the appetite for anything? Tamaki’s eyes flitted from person to person, observing, silent.

Hitoshi hadn’t shown up. He hadn’t left his room for days, actually, likely too wrapped up in grief and pain to function. _Yaomomo checked up on him yesterday… Someone should go again today._

The detective herself was slumped over the desk, her head on her arms. She was still as ever; as usual. _She must be so tired, fighting for all of us…_

_I wonder if she ever fights for herself._

Mezou was also absent. He was probably in the gym, as usual. _He’s always at the gym. He’s so strong… he has a massive advantage over all of us, come to think about it._

Shouto sat beside Yaomomo, his face also neutral. There were the faintest hints of bags under his eyes, but his expression was sharp as ever; analytical.

Denki was curled up on a chair, his knees tucked to his chest. He had buried his face under his arms and was gently rocking back and forth, like a teetering vase, ready to fall and shatter at any given moment, at the slightest disturbance.

_Worry._

But even on top of the electric blonde, Tsuyu was probably the greatest area of Tamaki’s concern and sympathetic anguish. She was swaying from side to side like a ragdoll being blown in the wind, her eyes dazed, expression contorted. She hadn’t even bothered to style her hair; it was cascading down her shoulders in a wave of dark green, dark and rippling like a lake under the new moon. It was surprisingly well-kept, brushed and glossy and looking soft to the touch; Nejire’s work washing her the previous night had paid off, it seemed.

But aside from physical appearance, she was clearly not _normal._ Tamaki didn’t mean that in an offensive way, either; it was just that her expression was most unlike anyone else in the class, even the ones who’d undergone personal trauma, like Denki. She was muttering something incomprehensible under her breath. Her eyes darted this way and that around the room. She was off-center, off-kilter. There was something seriously wrong with her.

Beside her, Nejire sat there, incapable of doing anything but watching her friend with eternally worried eyes. Her own hair was messy and unstyled, tangled. _I should do it for her later._ There were bags under her eyes, clearly visible against her paling skin. She looked as if she’d aged an eternity.

_On top of Tsuyu, she has to deal with herself, too…_

_What could I possibly do for her, to lighten the load..?_

Tamaki sat between Nejire and Mirio. The blonde to his right was sitting back, also watching the class with concern, observing, like Tamaki. The Florist wished he could lean on his boyfriend and fall back asleep, or leave, but the atmosphere was too tense to do anything but sit and move your eyes.

Finally, Yaomomo pulled back off of the table and got up, stretching. “There’s no point in all of us sitting here and doing nothing,” she said, her voice unemotional. “Go do something productive. I’m bringing Hitoshi breakfast.” 

She walked out the room, chin up, heading for the kitchen across the hallway.

“I think I’ll go, too…” Nejire said. “I’m gonna take Tsuyu to her room, get her food, that sorta stuff.” Her voice was soft, noticeably dragged. She blinked and got up, leading Tsuyu to her feet and guiding her along with an arm around her shoulders. The Beauty Pageant Star’s feet were shuffling, as if she didn’t have the energy to even take normal steps.

As she walked out the door, Tamaki staring at her back, Mirio turned to him. “You’re worried about her, aren’t you?”

“Eh?” Tamaki turned to face his lover, dark indigo eyes meeting peppy blue ones. _Why call me out when everyone’s still here, listening in?_

“Nejire. You’re worried about her, right?” Mirio reaffirmed. “I can agree. She’s tired; I can see it in every aspect of her.” He flashed Tamaki a smile; _how can he still muster the strength to?_ “Go on. Accompany her.”

“Oh. Okay… I’m fine with that. Are you coming with me?”

“No. I’m going to be helping out with the others. Come on, Tamaki. I know you can handle it. It’s just Nejire, right?” Mirio smiled. “Go. Be there for her.”

Tamaki blinked. He’d noticed Mirio’s pushing him to be more independent lately; it was glaringly obvious, a harsh turn of action. Nonetheless, the Florist got up and began to hurry out of the room, to go after the blue-haired girl.

He shot a glance back as he left, catching Mirio’s soft, slightly sad gaze trailing on his back.

_Mirio. Why are you trying to push me away..?_

Shaking off unease, Tamaki hustled down the hall and up the stairs, towards the dorms. With a quick step, he was able to glimpse Nejire’s bright blue hair up ahead as he entered the living area.

“N-Nejire!” She turned at his voice, surprised that he’d followed.

“Tamaki! What are you doing here?” A slight pause. “Where’s Mirio?”

“Ah… he told me to come after you…” Tamaki hesitated; he was never good at being genuine in person. It never came out right; always sounded too cheesy or awkward. “Umm… we were worried about you…”

The two walked along, their pace slower, Tsuyu still guided by Nejire’s hand.

“Huh? Aw, you guys are too sweet. I’m fine,” she said dismissively. “But thank you.”

“No, seriously. You look exhausted,” Tamaki managed to blurt out. “How much did you sleep last night?”

Nejire opened her mouth, before closing it again, before speaking finally. “Like, seven hours. I told you, I’m fine.”

They’d reached Tsuyu’s dorm. Nejire pulled out a key that had the Swimmer’s nametag and opened the door, leading them inside to a rather messy room. 

The walls were a gentle blue, and the floor was wooden. There wasn't much that suggested Tsuyu's talent, unlike Tamaki's room of flowers and Nejire's walk-in closet, oversized makeup collection, and mirrors. There was a handful frog-themed stationary on her desk.

Tsuyu obviously would never clean, considering the fact she couldn’t even maintain her own health. Nejire was never an organized person either, even though she still managed to look nice and maintain charm. Her room -her actual room, the one at her family’s apartment, in addition to her hero dorm- was always messy, but she knew exactly where everything was. It was a sort of disorganized perfection, just like her; curious and blunt, passionate, emotional, a naive grace that used to put a spring in her steps.

As Nejire led Tsuyu to bed, Tamaki continued to speak. “To put it straight, you look terrible. Come on. You put Tsuyu to bed, and god knows what you did the rest of the night. Making sure she fell asleep? Watching over her? Sleeping in her room? Helping her with any night horrors she faced?”

“Okay, okay! Truth is, I slept maybe… two hours, in total?” Nejire’s voice faltered. “Sort of on and off throughout the night.”

“Well, you need more than two hours of sleep each night, especially when you’re doing this every day,” Tamaki gently chastised. “Go take a shower after you put Tsuyu to bed. I’ll watch over her.”

“Hey… I can take care of myself too, you know?” Tsuyu suddenly spoke up. Her voice was small; shaky. “I agree with him. Nejire, take care of yourself. I’m glad you care so much about me, but you’re just as important to me, too.” She smiled up at her. “Get some rest.”

"Oh, Tsu..." Nejire's voice broke, tears welling up in her eyes. Her breath hitched. "I-It's okay... a-as long as you're okay, I-I'll be fine..!"

She rushed out and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl’s figure, all of the stress and emotion that resided in her condensed into the stream of tears dripping down her face as she cried. Tsuyu smiled sadly and rubbed her on the back. Tamaki stood there and awkwardly tried not to stare at the scene, staring at a heap of clothes on the floor instead, his fingers fiddling with the hem of his suit coat. _I should clean up the room._

A few minutes later, Nejire calmed down enough to pull back and semi-compose herself. “S-Sorry about that. I’ll go take a shower…” She tried to muster up a smile on her quivering face. “Go to bed, Tsu.”

Tamaki turned and faced the door while Tsuyu changed, in an attempt to grant her some privacy. Once her meek “I’m done” brushed his ears, he turned back around to see her tucked in.

While Nejire showered, Tamaki busied himself with gathering up all the dirty clothes around the room and throwing them in a laundry basket. He also managed to do a quick sweep of the floor, cleaning up the place the best he could. _Mirio always joked that I would be the “housewife”, when we moved in together._

_I hope that wish can come to fruition._

“Tamaki~” Nejire’s gentle voice rang through the room as she opened the door. She was dressed in a clean set of pajamas, shuffling along in slippers. “Wow. You really cleaned this place up.”

“It’s nothing,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll do the laundry later. I’m... going to brush your hair,” he said, his voice faltering slightly.

“Aww, you don’t have to. I can do it myself.”

“You haven’t been taking care of yourself. Mirio and I worry about you; I’m sure everyone else does too. I’m making sure you’re having a bit of self care,” Tamaki explained. “Now, go sit down over there.”

Nejire sat down at the desk, as instructed. Tamaki got out the hair dryer and a brush. He got to work drying her hair, before combing it out, working away at the knots in the dull blue fibers.

“You should be more genuine, Tamaki,” Nejire murmured, her voice relaxed under his toying of her hair.

“Mmh?”

“You’ve got to be more genuine. We care about you. Me, Mirio, Tsuyu, Yaomomo… we’re your friends, y’know? You can talk to us. It’s okay to show a bit of weakness. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or cheesy or uncool. It just means you’re human, like the rest of us.” Nejire chuckled, taking Tamaki’s hesitating hand as a chance to turn her head and smile tiredly up at him.

“You can show emotion with us. Cry a little sometimes if you’re feeling blue, alright?”

Tamaki paused, silent, frozen, unsure what to say. Seeing his reaction, Nejire laughed softly. “Haha. Easier said than done, huh..?” She turned back around, giving Tamaki his job back. “Think about it, alright?”

As Tamaki continued brushing, his mind continued to revolve around what the bluette said.

_Show some emotion, hm..?_

_Expression of pain, of sorrow..._

_Like it or not, people view it as weakness._

_Look at the ones who have fallen already..._

_Denki, who loved and cared for Kyouka, for his friends._

_Hitoshi, who felt emotion for Mashirao._

_Yaomomo, who loved her friends and now fights only for them._

_Mezou, who cared about his class enough to feel betrayed when Ochako tried to frame him._

_Do I really want to fall like them?_

_I love my friends, I love Mirio, and all of the underclassmen I feel the duty to protect..._

_I love the ones who have died, too..._

_Would showing the pain I feel be viewed as a weakness, too?_

_Would it mean I would finally fall off the tightrope I've been walking for days, weeks, months, years..?_

_Do I want to fall?_

_Maybe I would, if it took the stress off of someone else's shoulders._


	39. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 2 - Daily Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentioned s*lf harm and s*icide ideation

Denki awoke to a note at his door.

"'Come meet at the cafeteria ASAP. Therapy session. -Mirio'." Denki sighed and lowered his hands, the note crumpling in his cold hands. "I guess I'll go..."

He checked to make sure the blood-spotty bandages on his arms were concealed by the sleeves of his blazer, before walking down to the cafeteria. There were a few select people hovering around already; of course, the Big Three were seated at the table, while Yaomomo and Tsuyu paced back and forth together. He gave Mirio a small half-hearted wave, before joining the Detective. "Hey. Yaomomo."

"Mmh." Yaomomo looked up at him. "Good morning. You okay? You look... drained."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Denki muttered. "What's this meeting about?"

"I asked Mirio. He said we'd be having a group therapy session. Hope rally. Something like that." Her voice was hushed. She shot a look over to Mirio; Denki couldn't read what she was feeling.

"Anyway, we have nothing to do but wait. I'm with Tsu today. Give Nejire a break." Yaomomo glanced over at the frog girl, concern alight in her features. Denki followed her eyes, past where Tsuyu was pacing, to a certain Big Three member. Nejire was looking a little better, physically speaking. She seemed to have gained a bit more weight; her curves were a bit healthier looking, unlike her bony frame a few weeks ago. Her hair was brushed and silky-looking. She was fidgeting.

But Denki could recognize the look in her eyes, the lack of her trademark smile. Her cloudy gaze, unfocused cerulean orbs.

He'd seen that look before in the mirror, reflected in hazy golden eyes, eyes begging for death, begging for reason, a reason to live, and purpose in the everlasting loop of life, of death, of the horrors the Killing Game brought.

Eyes of sadness, emptiness, guilt, wishes, regrets, and despair.

He hated it. He hated it so much.

He looked away from her.

_Sorry, Nejire._

_It's not your fault._

_But I don't think I could stand pitying you._

_It'd be too much._

The scattered group waited a few minutes for the rest of the class to show up. Shouto had gone to get Hitoshi and Mezou, drag them down.

Which was precisely how Denki found himself sitting at the table, sitting awkwardly between Hitoshi and Yaomomo.

He hadn't spoken a word to the violette since Tooru's trial. He wanted to tell him he was sorry about Mashirao, sorry he couldn't do anything, sorry about his death. He felt terrible over the two deaths, but never said a word about it.

He didn't know _how_ to say it.

So he stayed silent.

Awkwardly silent.

"Everyone's here, huh?" Mirio's voice was gentle. "That's good."

He stood up at the head of the table. "Now, the reason I gathered everyone today was so we could have a sort of therapy session, as you may have seen on the notes. We've been through a lot already. Six trials... but we've made it. We can't give in now. We all just have to agree to peace. We were all friends once, right? Let's try to get back to that again."

"Friends? You expect us to all revert to being lovey-dovey again, just like that?" Mezou scoffed.

"That's wrong. I don't expect everyone to magically bond again," Mirio corrected. "That's unrealistic. We could never get back to the way we were before the game, not when so much has happened. But that doesn't mean we can't try to befriend one another again. It'll be different, that's for sure; but it'll be okay. We'll escape, soon. And then, we can try to readjust to normal life."

"Well, how are we supposed to go about doing this?" Shouto inquired, monotonous.

"A therapy session," Mirio proposed. "Group therapy. Share our feelings, unload some stress."

"Absolutely not." Mezou immediately shot back. "Expose our weaknesses? Like I'd do that."

He got up and made to storm out of the room, but Shouto -who was sitting closest to the door- swiftly stood and caught him by the arm.

"Hm?" Mezou whirled around to glare at Shouto. "Let go of me." He made no move to yank his arm free, however, despite being perfectly capable of doing so.

"You have to trust in some people more," Shouto advised gently. "Let us in."

"Trusting is weakness. You'll only get hurt trusting." Mezou's voice softened on the last part. _Ochako. Fumikage._

"But even if it hurts you... it'll help in the long run," Shouto insisted. _Izuku. Yaomomo._

"No. Let go of me."

"Come on, Mezou, I beg of you... stay. Lighten up a little, please..."

At Shouto's continuous insistence, Mezou finally sighed and turned back around, nearly dragging Shouto in an arc. "Fine. I'll stay at this stupid therapy thing, if it would make you shut up."

Satisfied with that borderline agreement, Shouto gave him a small smile and sat down. "Good."

As Mezou sat down, Mirio also offered him a warm grin and stood up. "Now then, let's begin with a sharing of feelings. Even if you think you sound cheesy, it'll be okay, because chances are someone else also feels the same as you. Try to say something, even if you don't want to talk. Starting with you, Tamaki." He looked down to his boyfriend. _Their relationship is the only one lasting._

_All of the others have lost their loved ones already, to death._

_I can't help but feel jealous._

"U-Umm..." Tamaki's eyes darted from side to side. "I'm anxious about our situation now... but I'm more anxious there will be one more killing before we escape. The air is still tense... even without a motive, someone might snap."

"Good job, Tamaki. You may be right in that things are still tense. Alright... Yaomomo," Mirio prompted.

"I'm fine," she muttered. "But I agree with Tamaki. Something'll happen. It doesn't matter if there's a motive or not... we're all human. When given a killing game to go wild in, it's bound for death to run amok until there's nobody left."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Yaomomo," Mirio gently reassured her. "As long as we work to escape, we won't be faced with the Killing Game. Then nobody else will die. Now, Denki?"

"Hm." Denki didn't want to answer. He didn't have the drive to, nor the energy to interact with other people. _Just the thoughts in my head are enough._ "I miss Kyouka."

Which was true; he missed the musical girl every living moment, whether awake or in a dream. But he didn't say anything more than that; none of his guilt, or pain, or sadness, or any of his feelings.

_Do I even have feelings? It's all so intense..._

_Maybe I'm just empty, and I'm trying to fill up the space._

A beat of awkward silence. Denki put his head down to make it clear he wasn't talking.

"I miss Kyouka too," Yaomomo murmured, placing a hand on his back. Denki stayed still.

"I think all of us have lost someone we've cared for," Mirio said softly. "We'll all deal with it differently. It's okay, Denki. Grieve as you must, okay? Now, moving on," he continued, much to Denki's relief of being out the spotlight. "Hitoshi. We all give our condolences to you, even though I know that's not enough. Please, share some of your feelings."

Silence.

Denki turned him head in his arms to watch his friend with concerned eyes. Hitoshi sat there, staring blankly at the table.

"Hitoshi..?" Denki decided to speak out; quietly, gently.

"That's how I feel."

"Hm?" Yaomomo made a slight sound of surprise at the violette's words.

"Empty. That's all." Hitoshi's voice was flat; pained with grief. "After Mashi... it was just me. Alone. It's amazing I still have emotion left in me at this point."

His voice cracked. Denki searched his eyes for any show of feeling; they were red. Tears were beginning to pool in them.

_I should've gone to him after the trial. Talked to him, comforted him or something._

_But I didn't._

_I'm a horrible friend._

_A horrible person._

_If I had died and Hitoshi were sad, Mashirao would've been at his side all day..._

_Why?_

_Why wasn't it me?_

Hitoshi suddenly got up, his motions jerky. He pushed his chair in, and walked out the room. Nobody tried to stop him. Upon his departure, awkward silence bubbled in the room, before Shouto cleared his throat, making Denki jump unnaturally sharply.

"Come on," he prompted. "Let's not bother him and continue."

"Okay, Shouto. Your turn," Mirio said.

"I guess I miss Izuku. But he wanted us to move on, so I've done that. There's been something on my mind for a while, though," he added quickly, clearing his throat. "Mei's machine."

"Mei's machine? That girl's crazy invention?" Mezou scoffed. "You really thought that did something?"

"Yes. Mei's smart, even if most of her devices explode. I can't help but feel like we're missing something. Where did the device go? Tooru took it. Where could she have hidden it?"

"That's actually a good point," Yaomomo agreed. "We should investigate it later. For now, let's continue the circle. Mezou."

"I have no interest in sharing. You're all bound to be traitors and murderers, that's for sure. Broken promises and backstabbers." Mezou paused. "That is all I have to say."

"Um, alright..." Mirio said slowly. "Tsu?"

"Mmh... everything is all confusing for me," she began slowly. "I don't know why... I don't know what's wrong with me... but as long as you all have hope, then it should be okay. I wish you guys wouldn't worry about me so much, as well. It's fine to care for me, but don't go overboard." She looked pointedly over at Nejire. _I'm glad she kept coherent enough to say all that, without going off the rails in the middle._

"Tsu, worry about yourself a little, please," she said, her voice soft. "I'm glad you care for us, though. I worry about you, that's for sure. I worry for all my friends."

Then she bit her lip and stopped. "That's all."

"Well, we're making progress," Mirio offered. "Personally, as long as I can help all of you, that would be enough for me. I've always cared for others, wanted to protect people. If I can do that, everything's okay.

"Now, we'll work on this, okay? For now, I think we should have a few people investigate the missing device, as Shouto said. It's possible it'll be useful, so this is worth a shot. Who wants to search for it with me?

"I'll go, obviously," Shouto said. "Yaomomo? You want to join?"

"Of course."

"I'll come along," Tamaki offered.

"I won't. I'm going to hang out with Tsu," Nejire said. She glanced at the Swimmer for consent.

"Sure." The jadette offered a smile.

"I'm going to my room," Denki murmured. He wondered if anyone heard. _It doesn't matter anyway._

"And I'm heading to the gym," Mezou grumbled.

The group swiftly began to disperse. Denki got up and hurried out the room on heavy feet, eyes fixed to the ground, not bothering to speak even when he bumped into Yaomomo. Instead, he hustled past, despite her calling out to him.

_I don't want to talk to anyone. Not today, not ever..._

_Kyouka... why did you have to go? Mashirao, too..._

_Please... I just want to go home..._

_I want to curl up in my room and cry._

_I wish I would just die._


	40. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 3 - Daily Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> major kudos to my friend Emma for helping me come up with the case for this chapter! you're so creative and sweet and just an overall amazing person ily no homo,, thank you soso much!!

The next day, the class decided to host another banquet.

Tsuyu was in charge of baking, as per usual. Nejire helped her out, kept a close eye on her to make sure she didn't do anything unpredictable; Tsuyu saw the right in that. She wasn't sure if she could trust herself, either.

As she slipped the tray of pastries into the oven, cautious not to get burned, certain thoughts began to swim around her head.

_Ochako. Rikidou. The unlucky bakers..._

_Haha... baker's dozen is thirteen, right? Unlucky number thirteen, the unlucky bakers who died first._

_Aren't I funny? You are funny. Yes, very._

Despite having a job at hand to pin focus on, she couldn't help but get lost in her head again. It was always hard not to.

_Ah, the deja vu... baking pastries. Fumikage will come over and ask me if this was my way of remembering Ochako, right? He'll come over any moment, right?_

Tsuyu closed the oven _-safely,_ wearing oven mitts, _right Nejire?-_ and took off the gloves, turning in the direction of the grill, half-expecting to see a certain bird-headed boy standing there, making barbeque with Mezou.

_And there he is._ The sleek figure of Fumikage hovered by Mezou, staring blankly down at the sauce-coated pieces of meat on the fire. Mezou's strong hands were working the tongs and the flame, of course they were; after all, Fumikage didn't have hands.

The pale boy's arms were cut off by the elbow, revealing the bone and cartilage of the joint. Blood did not run; only clotted at the sever. Fumikage's eyes were blank; unmoving.

_Right. Just a statue, a figurehead._ She'd tried interacting with her presumably dead friends many times before; they never responded. Never said anything, never paid her any attention. She wasn't sure if she cared at this point, even if seeing Fumikage ignore her or Ochako refusing to talk to her stung.

_At the end of the day, they were dead anyway, right?_

_We can only move forward, right?_

_Right?_

_Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Ri-_

"Tsu." She was snapped out of her train of thought by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Nejire gazing down at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Tsuyu turned back to her oven. One glance at the timer revealed she had just half a minute left before she had to swap out the trays. "But thank you."

She finished up her baking job in twenty minutes- slipping the last tray into the oven, decorating them after they'd cooled a little. She had to eat a few herself because she majorly messed them up after spacing out; one was drowned in precious red berry gel when Nejire poked her and got the Swimmer to center herself. But the end product was still the same; a nice, ornate plate of delicate cookies. Nejire carried it into the dining hall last, showing Tsuyu her seat, before racing back into the kitchen to make drinks with Mezou.

Tsuyu sat down. Looking at the meal, the class had managed to pick up some cooperation -at Mirio's urging, obviously- and prepared some edible objects. _Edible objects. Haha. I have a way of words, don't I?_

A few minutes later, Nejire and Mezou stepped back into the cafeteria, acting as the waiter and waitress. _Drink servers._ The silver trays held tall, cool drinks in glasses, paired with cheery straws, slices of fruit, and paper umbrellas to top it off. They began setting one before each person seated around the dining table. Tsuyu thanked Nejire as she set a lemon seltzer by her plate; the pale yellow fizzled and bubbled, a slice of the sour fruit clipped on the rim of the glass.

The meal began; the atmosphere was surprisingly content. Tsuyu ate quietly by the Beauty Pageant's side, observing the others. Sometimes Nejire would even humor her and chat, even if she seemed visibly confused by some of the younger girl's words.

Yaomomo was making small talk with Shouto. Mezou ate silently as well, as if still sulking, but responded to Shouto's prompting accordingly, the Theorist leading them into a short conversation. Tamaki was swapping drinks with Mirio, and the latter was attempting to feed him. Denki was saying something to Hitoshi, as well as apparently making sure the violette ate his meal; the Electrician looked like he was on the verge of tears. _But then again, he always does. Look at the bags under his eyes, the redness of his nose, the bandages peeking out just under his cuffs, engulfed in shadow and hastily applied, hastily hidden..._

Ochako, Izuku, and Tenya hovered by Shouto, their haunted eyes lowered to their live friend. Blood covered the brunette girl's skin and clothes, dried and crusty. Tenya had a spear sticking out his back, the silver blade dripping black liquid. Izuku was pale, his skin wrinkled like a prune. Their eyes were sunken and shiny, the whites dull; _maybe worms have taken residence within the eyeballs. Wriggle, wriggle... ahaha. Wriggle. What a funny word. Wriggle._

Hanta, Mina, Katsuki, and Eijirou crowded behind Denki, their figures merging into one monstrous morph of bodies. They watched him like snakes, their combined figure writhing. _Like a failed lab experiment. Maybe they were made in the same lab Tooru was killed in. Oh, maybe, under the cover of that pink liquid, they were secretly the ones who ate her. I wonder if we could investigate execution fields..._

The chimera-Bakusquad forced Kyouka to take a place by Yaomomo instead, her arms flopped down on the Detective's shoulders, fingers linked in front of the taller's chest. She rested her chin atop the ravenette's head. Her skin was gray, eyes shut. She looked like a zombie, one that had crawled out of its grave to visit its friends.

Mashirao was doing something similar to Hitoshi, hugging him from behind, chair and all. His tail flicked back and forth, wreathing forward like a serpent, or a demented snake, rubbing against the violette. There was a demented grin on his face; his teeth were sharp, like Eijirou's, but sharper than even that. His black scleras and red irises reminded Tsuyu, strangely, of a vampire, or a ghoul. Fumikage still stood by Mezou, by his friend, gazing at the meal with a blank expression. He still had no arms.

Nejire swapped between making small talk with Tsuyu and Mirio and Tamaki. She was looking a little better, physically; Tamaki had insisted she take care of herself, much to Tsuyu's relief. Of course, even if the bags under her eyes had faded, and she gained a bit more weight, Tsuyu could still see the fractures in her eyes, in her heart, in her mind.

_We're all broken, aren't we?_

~~~

There was an illness getting passed around.

The next day, Mezou grumbled of a stomachache as the class gathered in the kitchen, saying that if someone poisoned his food he was going to kill them.

"That is, if the poison in your stomach doesn't kill you first," Yaomomo said dryly. Mezou's eyes widened slightly. He glared at her. "Kidding, kidding."

"I'll just sweat the poison out later," the Heavylifter muttered.

Shouto was also ill. He commented that he'd evidently come down with the same stomach bug as Mezou. Denki muttered that there was probably medicine in the Nurse's Office.

At breakfast, Mirio also cropped up as looking a bit uncomfortable. Tsuyu was pretty sure he decided not to mention it during food prep, in hopes of not worrying any of his classmates and believing it would go away, but Tamaki noticed the moment they sat down. Nejire had picked up on it rather swiftly as well; she pointed it out to Tsuyu as they ate. Between the pounding in her head -actual, literal pounding, like the sound of a trash compactor upon a metal board- and the whispers that brushed her ears, she made out a part of the conversation the two Big Three members were having.

"Hey. Mirio. Are you feeling okay?" Tamaki's voice was laced with concern; his indigo eyes reflected that worry.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine!" Mirio was cheery as ever. "Just the stomach bug going around right now. It's nothing to worry about, really. Maybe the villains haven't been getting the freshest of food recently."

"That's definitely something to worry about," Tamaki insisted. "What if it's poisoned?"

"It wouldn't be. They said they won't interfere with us, right?" Mirio paused, likely upon taking in his boyfriend's worried face. "It'll be fine, Tamaki, trust me."

Tsuyu hoped he was right.

...

He was wrong.

~~~

Two days later, Tsuyu found herself in the gym.

Mirio and Nejire were sparring. Tamaki and Tsuyu herself were sitting and watching, content with seeing their friends active together.

The mysterious abdominal illness throughout the class hadn't spread further, but the infected were consistent in symptoms, or worsening. Mezou tried sweating out the poison, which didn't work; at the moment, he was in the kitchen making warm water, or something along those lines. Mirio was still ill, but also trying to get moving to sweat it out. Shouto had decided to rest in the library with a pile of books and Yaomomo's tea and snacks.

Tsuyu watched, a little dazed, as Nejire and Mirio sparred. Back and forth, back and forth, like a seesaw, _a seesaw, how funny. Mmh, like one of those rocking boat things at the amusement park, the ride that rocks back and forth, while centrifugal force keeps you in your seat. I want to go on one..._

She watched as Nejire whirled and landed a relatively gentle kick to Mirio's abdomen. Mirio flinched and bounced back. Realizing her mistake of kicking someone who has a stomachache in the stomach, the bluette turned and hit the ground. "Wah! Sorry, Mirio! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mirio gulped, evidently in pain from even the light touch. _So delicate... it's as if he's turning into a porcelain statue, hollow and brittle and easily broken. Just the lightest tap could crack the shell..._

"No, you aren't." Tamaki was at his side in a blur, worry written all over his face. "You're clearly very sick."

"You should sit down. Have a drink, take a break," Nejire fussed. There was a sort of guilt in her voice; _she feels bad for hurting Mirio, causing this._

"Fine, fine." Mirio walked over to where Tsuyu was and sat down on the bench. His legs are shaky. _How bad does it hurt? I wonder. Is it like a fire in your stomach, or is it a knife in your gut? Or is the pain everywhere, everywhere, like the people around me?_

He wiped away sweat from his forehead, before taking a glug from his water bottle. Tamaki and Nejire settled on either side of him; Tsuyu was on the other side of Nejire. "You've clearly gotten worse," the Swimmer observed. "Nejire. Have you noticed any of the other sick people getting like this?"

"No," Nejire said, slightly puzzled. "I don't get it... what type of illness even is this? Mirio? You have any ideas?" She turned to the blonde. He'd gone blank, his eyes wide and unseeing, staring dead ahead. _He's shaking._

"Mirio? Are you... okay?" Tamaki's voice was small; fearful.

Silence.

Then everything began happening at once.

Mirio began shaking harder. The shaking then turned to spasms, violent spasms that caused him to fall to the ground, writhing, his body jerking in stiff, unnatural waves. Nejire cried out alarm, paralyzed on the bench, while Tamaki jumped forward, trying to hold him still to the ground in a weak attempt to get him to not hurt himself in the fit, but to no avail. "N-Nejire! Help me!"

"Ah... okay..!" She snapped out of her frozen state, clearly terrified to the bone. Tsuyu jumped up to try and help as well, although she knew she would likely not be able to do much, considering her tiny stature. The three of them, collectively, could not even begin to control the fitful boy.

Suddenly, Mirio convulsed, vomiting blood onto the floor. Tsuyu backed off a little, mesmerized, staring at the hot, sticky pink liquid splattering across the wooden floorboard. Tamaki jumped back as well, since he was on that side of the writhing body, but obviously for different reasons.

_His eyes are terrified._

Nejire flinched, but kept her hands firmly on Mirio. "C-Come on! Keep helping me!"

Tsuyu lurched forward to lend a hand, but as her fingers brushed his arm, she realized there was a bump in the skin. She pulled back out of instinct, slightly confused. _Hm..? What's this? I've never felt or seen anything like this before..._

A muffled cracking sound suddenly came from Mirio's spasming form. A strangled wail broke free from his throat, raw and harsh with agony. Tamaki winced, growing increasingly panicked by the second. Nejire whimpered. On the other hand, Tsuyu was blank; observing.

"...his bones."

"Wh-What?!" Tamaki wailed over Mirio's screams. "What does that mean?!"

"His bones are breaking." Tsuyu cautiously crept forward and placed her fingers upon his forearm again, gently rubbing the bump as the owner of said arm continued to writhe in pain. "This is real, I think. The bone here has broken. The end of one half is jutting up."

"U-Uugghrr..." Nejire made a rather ill noise. "Wh... Why is this happening..?" She was trying her best to restrain Mirio, but from the puddle of blood to his breaking bones to his fearfully manic eyes, even she was becoming deterred.

"I don't understand..." Tamaki was looking pale. His expression nearly matched Mirio's; scared and wild. He was holding the blonde's hand with his own right while the rest of his upper body was used to attempt to hold him down. "How..?"

The three of them could only try to control Mirio while his body continued to spasm. His bones kept snapping; Tsuyu could practically hear it, feel it, see it, predict it when Mirio's screams heightened in intensity. He vomited blood again; this time, Tsuyu didn't move when it splattered across her hands, arms, and thighs, hot and sickly, scented of rust and acid.

_Acid._

_It burns like acid._

After what must have been an eternity and a half, the spasms let up. Mirio's eyes were closed; he was still. His own blood was smeared all over his clothes from rolling in it.

_He's barely moving. Is he alive?_ Tsuyu crept back and got up, ignoring the sandpaper-like pink that was swiftly drying over her own skin. She could only stare at Mirio; one minute so wild, so _manic,_ the next so frozen. _Like a robot. Turn it on, turn it off. On and off, on and off..._

"Ta... Tamaki..."

A soft voice, quieter and weaker than a breeze, than a whisper. It was like the breath of a ghost; haunted. Hollow. Almost dead.

"Mirio! Mirio, what's happening?- Are you o- no, that's a stupid question- Mirio, please hang in there-!" Tamaki's voice was panicked; uncontrolled. He looked like he was on the brink of tears at this point; Tsuyu opted to step back and watch.

"It's fine... I know I'm dying..." Mirio coughed; blood dripped from his lips. His voice rasped. "Please know... everything I've ever done... It's only ever been for everyone's sake..."

"M-Mirio, what do you mean?! You can't die... you can't die on me, not here, not now..!" Tamaki was panicking. Behind him, Nejire was crying, silent, spare for the choked sobs and strangled inhales that escaped her throat.

"Tamaki. Calm down." Mirio moved to reach for his boyfriend's hand, but winced as he attempted to move. Tamaki noticed the gesture and reached out to grip his bloody hand. "Everything I've done for you, to you.... I've only wanted to help you... because I care for you, I care for my friends. Try your best, okay? Get everyone out of here... no matter what." He gave him a weak grin; the best he could muster. "And remember that I love you, my sunshine."

"M-Mirio... I..." Tamaki's voice cracked. He broke down before he could reply, a sob strangling any last words he had.

"You too, Nejire," Mirio continued. The bluette lifted her teary eyes to the dying ex-hero. "Don't beat yourself up, please... Protect those that you love." His eyes were sad as he bore a final ghost of a smile, a hollow mirage of joy. "Take care of Tamaki for me, okay? And take care of Tsu."

"O-Oh, Mirio..!" Tears cascaded down Nejire's face as she broke down sobbing again. Tamaki's expression had morphed into one of defeated agony; he was crying, silently, liquid trailing down his face in a steady stream of crystal.

Mirio's eyes closed as he went limp. Tamaki lifted a hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears, only for more to replace them immediately. "D-Dang it..."

The monitor above flickered to life.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of ti-"_

The bear's robotic voice suddenly halted, cutting off in a garbled screech.

That's when it all went dark.


	41. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 4 - Deadly Life

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of ti-"_

"...Mmh?"

Yaomomo was silent, staring up at the monitor glowing in the cafeteria. _Why-_

Then all the lights shut off.

"Ah!" She couldn't help but cry out in surprise at the sudden pitch-black. She blinked a few times, taking a minute to wait for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. _The lights, the monitor... the power must've been cut,_ Yaomomo realized, standing perfectly still in the center of the room. _Where is the power control? Do the villains control it? Or could it be in the-_

"H-Hello? _Hello?!"_

A voice outside. She would recognize it anywhere.

"Denki..?" Yaomomo called back.

"Oh, Yaomomo! W-Where are you? It's so dark..." His voice trembled; he was afraid.

"The cafeteria."

She heard his footsteps as he walked into the room. "I'm coming towards you," he whimpered. He took a few more steps before she felt his hand against her arm, and he relaxed beside her.

"Where is the power source? We have to jump it back up," he mused once he'd calmed down. "Maybe the villains control it. Th-hey took over the school, after all."

"It can't be in the villains' control. They were about to have us start investigation; they wouldn't ruin the Game like this," Yaomomo replied.

"Th-Then either one of the villains is secretly on our side, or the power controls are in this building. I'm banking on the latter," Denki murmured. "Where could they be?"

A pause, in which Yaomomo tried to think logically. _Where would the controls be? Who would be in charge of the power, of the school's functioning?_

"Ah! The principal's office..!" She jumped up and started towards the direction of the door -hopefully-, leaving Denki to scramble behind her. "Come on, Denki, let's go to the office."

She felt her hand hit a wall, using it as a guide. Shuffling right, she hit the door. _If this is the cafeteria entrance, then I must turn left, to the stairs._

Using a mental image of the school -while calling to Denki periodically to make sure he wasn't lost-, the two managed to make their way to the base floor. _Alright, here's the stairs. Another left should take us to the office._

She entered the office, immediately bumping into a table. She cursed to herself before slipping around it, guiding herself to the desk. "Denki, do you have anything that could create some temporary light? We need to find the switch."

"I would think... it's in the back of the room, near the ceiling. Last I checked, there was a shelf in the left corner, as well as the monitor in this room. Let's try the right corner," he suggested. Yaomomo uttered consent and made her way back to the right wall, brushing her fingers against it as she used it as a guide.

She hit the corner; there was another shelf there. "Alright. I'm going to have you go on my shoulders," she said to Denki. She reached back, brushing his hand, before squatting down. She felt him move to sit on top of her shoulders.

She managed to stand up without much hassle. _He's surprisingly light..._

There was a brief silence as Denki felt around on top of the shelf. "Are you finding anything?"

"No... wait..." Denki leaned forward, seeming to have found something on the wall. "I think... this is it!"

With a small _click,_ the switch was flipped, and the lights flickered back on.

"Ah... good job..." Yaomomo bent back down to let Denki off her shoulders. She brushed herself off. "Now, about that body discovery..."

"I thought I heard yelling from one of the floors, when we were heading down," Denki said. "Let's just walk up. W-We'll find them soon."

The two began slowly up the stairs, before footsteps descending the flight caught Yaomomo's attention. _Who's that? Could it be they're gathering people for the investigation..?_

Her question was swiftly answered when a small green form barrelled into Yaomomo, knocking her over. She was glad she was on a landing and merely fell into the wall, instead of being shoved down the stairs.

"A-Ah! Tsuyu!" Denki yelped as the frog girl got up. "Where are the others? Where's Nejire? I thought you were with her..." His voice trailed off as he realized what happened. "W-Wait... why are you covered in blood?"

He was right. Tsuyu's skirt and legs, as well as her shirt, were splattered with swiftly drying magenta. Yaomomo backed away from her quickly, suspicion rising in her mind. "I was sent to find people," the Swimmer said. "Go to the gym. You'll see when you get there."

_She's awfully vague,_ Yaomomo thought. _But if she was sent, then someone saw her and didn't immediately confine her because of those bloodstains. And she isn't distraught, like she would be if Nejire were the one who died._

_Is it another member of the Big Three? That would explain Nejire not accompanying her,_ she thought as she and Denki raced up the stairs and dashed down the hallway. Her heart was in her throat; her stomach twisted itself into a knot. _I shouldn't be scared, but I am, all the same._

She turned into the gym entrance.

_A pool of blood, smeared all over the floor, as if a rabid creature had rolled in it._

_A pink-covered body, clothes matted with bodily fluid, lying in the puddle._

_Clothes soaked through with blood in patches, like paint splattered on a canvas in globs._

_Messy blonde hair, also crusted with fresh magenta._

_An extended hand, a hand with a bent and bruised finger, a hint of bone sticking out of the break at the joint._

_A body, bloody and beaten, as if knifes had pierced it from the inside._

_A body lying in a pool of blood._

The room was silent, spare for the sobs of two people.

"Wh-Why did h-he have to d-die?" Nejire's words were punctured with her uneven breaths, her form sagging and crumpled to the ground as she wept into her hands, her sky-blue hair cascading around her tiny form in comparison, like a curtain, a hospital curtain, shielding her from the world, trapping her within a bubble. Meanwhile, Tamaki simply collapsed beside the body, crying silently but openly, tears sliding down his face as he held one of the corpse's hands. Blood ran all over his arm, but he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Mirio..."

His voice was hushed; haunted. He was like a ghost; hollow and devoid of life. _As if he were the one who died, and not Mirio._

_Well, I suppose a part of him_ has _died._

Both Yaomomo and Denki stayed silent. Silent and watching from afar, unwilling the destroy the delicate scene before them. They could only wait for the rest of the class to appear, for Monokuma to then distribute the case File.

Slowly, people began trickling in. Tsuyu was successfully gathering the class, it seemed, albeit a little inefficiently. _I can't blame her, though. Not with the mental state she's in, in addition to the blood on her hands and clothes._

Yaomomo could hear the gasps and murmurs of the crowd behind her. _Hurry up, hurry up... would Monokuma cut our investigation time short if we take too long gathering the class? There's only eight of us left now..._

When the last person stepped into the room -probably Tsuyu-, a certain robotic bear appeared, popping out of the supply closet.

"Upupupu! Looks like Hope's down for the count! Puhuhu!" Monokuma grinned. As expected, there was a silver and black tablet in his paws, the Roman numeral for seven engraved on the back.

"Cut to the chase, rat," Shouto hummed. "Give Yaomomo the File."

"Ahh! Big Theowist is so scawy... puhu." Monokuma feigned terror and handed Yaomomo the tablet with shaking paws. He promptly ran off, laughing as he went.

_Alone again, with only our wits to guide us._

_Time to solve a murder._

_>Investigation : Start!<_

"Let's start with the Monokuma File," Shouto suggested, walking up to her side.

"As usual." Yaomomo tapped the screen, turning on the device.

_>Case VII_

_Victim: Mirio Toogata_

_Other Wounds: His appendix is ruptured._

_When: ~11:30<_

"That's... it?" Yaomomo swiped a few times across the screen. Nothing.

"I suppose any more information would give away the case," Shouto mused. "We should just investigate the school, instead."

Yaomomo silently shut off the File at his prompting, instead turning to the body, and the two figures huddled over it. _I'll have to bother them, I suppose..._

"Sorry to interrupt," she said softly, approaching the corpse. "But... could I investigate?"

"...sure." Tamaki's voice shuddered, but he pulled away, letting go of his dead lover's hand and shuffling away to the wall, curling his knees to his chest and burying her face behind his arms. Nejire followed his lead and wordlessly backed off, too, still crying into her hands.

Yaomomo approached the corpse on light steps. Mirio's body looked ghastly; strangely suspended. _Something is not right here..._ She ran her fingers over a bump in Mirio's arm. Intrigued, she pulled back his sleeve, only to see-

"...mmh."

-revealed bone.

The end of a broken bone was jutting out of his pale, broken skin. Flesh was revealed below it, along with thick, running blood. Torn tissue and muscle split from the open wound, creating a canvas of pinks and whites and reds.

She slid the sleeve back down. "Okay, I can work with this..." She ran her fingers across the rest of Mirio's upper body, opting to only eye his legs when Tamaki tilted his head to watch her with one eye. _I have no wish to hurt my classmates any more. Perhaps Tamaki would be upset to see me inspect Mirio's body?_

There were several more similar bumps across the body. _And I'll bet they're all the same,_ she thought bitterly. She continued the autopsy, now studying Mirio's expression, as well as looking for any suspicious blood patches or discolored veins. There were large patches of purple on the skin, suggesting internal bleeding and matching the broken bones. _Reminds me of Izuku, back when he was a hero, breaking his fingers when he was still unable to control his quirk..._

Then she noticed the patch of blood, especially dark, near Mirio's gut. _Right... the File said his appendix was ruptured. So maybe this means something._ She pulled back his shirt to reveal a wound over his lower stomach, near his hip. _A stab wound._ She prodded the wound, working a finger into it. _Not that deep..._

Finished with the autopsy but still pretty much leadless, she sat back a little and wiped her hands off on her skirt, accidentally backing into Shouto's legs. He stepped back at her touch.

"Hey, Shouto?" she prompted. "I have the autopsy report." She turned to look up at him, gesturing for him to sit, and he crouched down beside her. There was a hollow light in his eyes as he regarded her and the body.

"All I've gathered is that many of the bones in his body have somehow broken... and the internal bleeding likely killed him," Yaomomo determined. "There's also blood on his tongue, which suggests he vomited blood. That's expected, if you were to hemorrhage that much. Otherwise, I have nothing else..."

"His bones..." Shouto lapsed into silence. "Hm."

"Let's just move on," the Detective decided, getting up and brushing herself off. She didn't want to spend one more moment than necessary by Mirio's destroyed corpse. _Something just feels so wrong about it..._

"While you were investigating the body, I asked a few people to go around the school and keep an eye out for anything strange," Shouto said. "I sent off Mezou, as well as Denki."

"Maybe you shouldn't have sent off Denki alone," Yaomomo murmured. "You know... he's not that stable."

"..." Shouto was silent for a moment, as if musing over something. Bitterness flashed through his heterochronous eyes for a moment _-or did I imagine that?-_ before the veil went over them again. "Then I'll go with him," he said finally.

"Ah..." Yaomomo felt something drop in her stomach. Of course, she couldn't just up and tell him _'Hey I like you more than the others so I want you to investigate with me and only me,'_ so her only choice was to agree. "Sure. But I want your ideas and your account first."

"Well..." He paused. "The cause of death and such puzzle me too. But I do have an idea on the power outage; it's why I sent out Mezou and Denki, too. I believe somebody attempted to cause a power surge."

"A power surge?"

"Yes. If enough devices around the school were functioning, perhaps it overloaded the power supply and it cut off," Shouto suggested.

"I hate to say this, but that's rather unlikely," Yaomomo retorted. "This is a _school._ It's designed to withstand a lot more power usage than any one person could set up. There's no way you could surge the entire system."

"It's worth a shot, though. We just know someone managed to cut the power," Shouto shrugged. "It's our best bet at the moment."

"Then, other than that, do you have any suspicions?" Yaomomo pushed further.

"Mmh... I believe Tsu is of concern, as well as the other members of the Big Three," Shouto explained. "Tsu had blood on her, but it wasn't hers. It must have been Mirio's; nobody else is injured. That means she came along with Nejire and Tamaki to sparring in the gym. She was present when he died, and was close enough to him that she got blood on herself; it's strange. She also doesn't seem as disturbed as she should be, after seeing what must have been a grisly death, judging by the blood and the bones. Nejire and Tamaki may also be of suspicion."

"Mmh." It was just another thing Yaomomo liked about Shouto; he was also very blunt. He didn't take personal feelings into concern when deducing who was suspicious and who wasn't; it was helpful in the trials for her as a detective. "I'd agree. However, Nejire and Tamaki could also provide an explanation for Tsu being bloodied."

"You could go ask them," the Theorist suggested. "But right now, I have to go find Denki. I'll see you later." He walked away, flashing her a small wave. She waved back before turning back to the scene.

_Ask someone about Tsu... I think I should ask Nejire. She's closer to her and less close to Mirio as Tamaki, and Tamaki is likely too wound up in grief to speak to me, anyway._

"Nejire." The bluette looked up, tears still sliding down her face. She quickly swiped at her tear-stained cheeks with her wrists. "I need your account."

"M-My... account?" Nejire's eyes were hazy; even the fragmented light in her irises was fading. "Um... I went sparring with Mirio... at one point I kicked him in the gut, but l-lightly..." Her lip was trembling. "I... I'm sorry..."

She fell back into a fit of sobs; Yaomomo stood, stiff as a board and silent, before awkwardly kneeling down and leaning forward to wrap her arms around the crying upperclassman.

"There, there, there..." she murmured. Nejire's body crumpled in her embrace as she collapsed against the taller girl's shoulder, face buried in the crook of Yaomomo's arm. The Detective could only sit there and allow Nejire to give her tears their run. Meanwhile, she began to contemplate what Nejire had said.

_So the Big Three and Tsu were sparring together... Nejire was the one sparring with Mirio, and she accidentally struck him in the gut... and later, his appendix ruptured. Hm..._

Over her shoulder, Yaomomo could see Tamaki eyeing them over his arm, his violet irises sharp and tinged with red. His expression was shadowed.

"I-I'm okay n-now," Nejire stammered. "I'm so-sorry about h-holding you up from i-investigation..."

"It's okay." Yaomomo let go of Nejire, rubbing her back as she did. "Your information will help us, though. I did want to ask you one more thing, however."

"Hm?"

"Could you explain what happened to Tsu?" Yaomomo tried to make her voice gentle, not hurt the girl any more than she had to. _I need the info... but Nejire obviously isn't in a stable emotional state, so pushing her would do more harm than good._

"Oh... uh... Mirio... he was throwing up blood, and I think some of it splashed on her..." Nejire's eyes were tearing up again, her expression pained. _Oh._

"Ah. Thank you for the account. It'll help out later," Yaomomo said gently. "And, umm... sorry about Mirio."

"Mmh," Nejire mumbled in return, before curling back up into a ball, tucking her knees to her chest. Meanwhile, the ravenette got up and glanced around the room. _What next..?_

"Yaomomo." A voice sounded from directly behind her. She darn near jumped out of her skin as she whirled around, only to find herself face to face with Hitoshi.

"Hey. You're the detective, right?" His voice was dull and monotonous. Yaomomo quickly nodded. "Well, I have evidence for you."

"Sure." Yaomomo avoided looking into his eyes, _those eyes,_ those cold, dark indigo eyes. "Could you show me?"

Hitoshi turned wordlessly and strode across the room to the benches. Nejire and Mirio's bags were there. _Oh, come on, don't tell me he dug through their stuff..._

"I was looking around over here, and I found this," he said. He reached behind the bench, felt around for a moment, and pulled out a small silver object by the hilt.

It was a knife. A black-handled blade. _And it's covered in pink liquid._

"A paring knife," Hitoshi murmured. He turned the bloody object in his hand. "How suspicious."

"Let me see that." Hitoshi handed over the knife with no fuss. Yaomomo turned it in her hand and sniffed the liquid, inspecting the scratches on the side. _It's blood, alright. A bloody paring knife..._

"Thank you for the investigation," she said, handing the blade back to him. "It'll be helpful." _And I'm glad you're getting to doing something._

_It'll help you move on._

"Helpful, you say.." Hitoshi murmured, setting the knife down on the bench, next to the bags. "Helpful in helping your friends, or helpful in condemning someone to murder?" His eyes were clouded as he met Yaomomo's gaze evenly.

"...both, I suppose?" she said slowly. But she didn't have any more to say after that. _He's right. Am I really helping by solving the cases, or am I only hurting my classmates..?_

"..." Hitoshi silently turned on his heel and strode away wordlessly.

Yaomomo sighed and returned her attention to the knife, staring at the blade, at her reflection in the blood, in the silver.

"Yaomomo?"

Another familiar voice sounded from behind her. She turned to see Tsuyu standing behind her. "I heard you were taking accounts, so I wanted to give one."

_Helpful as always, hm..? Even though her words probably won't make much sense when she actually says them..._ Yaomomo had no choice but to accept the offer, turning completely to face the shorter girl. "Go ahead. It would be nice if you could explain the blood," she added.

"Oh. The blood." Tsuyu looked down to eye the pink splatters up her arms and clothes. A small giggle escaped her lips. "Hehe... tiny pink polka dots. Polka dots on my hands. Hehe." She blinked and shook her head. Confusion seemed to flash across her face. "Oh, um..."

"It's okay. I asked where the blood came from," Yaomomo repeated gently.

"Oh. Mirio was writhing on the f-floor... and he vomited blood. It got on me..." Tsuyu's voice grew more and more uncertain as she went on. "At least, that's what I recall. That's what happened, right..?"

Yaomomo lapsed into thought again. _The blood got on her. She didn't jump out of the way when he did so... almost as if she didn't mind the gore and horror._

_I wonder... what haunts her so much that her mind has become this distorted?_

"I wonder if you could recall your complete account of the episode," Yaomomo pushed further. "Think about the little details. Anything that may be helpful."

"Details... details..." Tsuyu mumbled. "Umm... We all went down to spar together, and Tamaki and I watched them. Uh... seesaw. They were like a seesaw, going back and forth, back and forth, and centrifugal force kept both of them from falling off. I think Nejire kicked him in the gut at one point, and he had to sit down. He had a drink. Then everything started happening all at once..." She trailed off, her eyes going blank.

"Are you okay..?" Yaomomo murmured, reaching out to tentatively place a hand on the shorter's shoulder. Tsuyu jumped, starting at the touch. Her eyes seemed to cloud over for a moment, before she uneasily focused on the Detective's face.

"Oh. I'm fine..." Tsuyu's voice was soft. "Where was I again?"

"You said Nejire kicked Mirio, and he had to sit down, and everything _'started happening all at once',"_ Yaomomo gently reminded again, a pang of sympathetic worry rising in her throat.

"Oh. He began shaking, and then he fell on the floor. We tried to hold him down until the fit passed, but the spasms were getting really violent... sort of like an electrocuted snake. Lightning snakes... kinda cool, huh?" A pause. Yaomomo steadily continued to look into Tsuyu's eyes. "Anyway, he vomited blood. Twice. It got on me the second time... it was almost like he was throwing up acid. It burned on my skin... it's dry, like paint, now," she added.

"What happened after the fit passed?" Yaomomo pushed.

"He was dying... said some last words to Nejire and Tamaki." A hint of jealousy edged her steady voice. "Then he died, and the announcement played... and then the lights shut off. It all sort of just stopped, all at once, right there. Like someone pulling the plug on a computer and the system shutting down."

"What after that? Did something happen during the blackout?" the ravenette prompted.

"Well... I heard footsteps. We heard it. I spoke up and asked who was there... nobody responded. It was like talking to a ghost... ooh, maybe it was a ghost. Maybe Mirio came back to visit... did he give Tamaki a kiss on the cheek? Or maybe it was Ochako. I wanna see her again. I miss her. I love Ochako. I love Ochako, lovely Ochako-chan, love-love Ochako-chan." Tsuyu's eyes went dull, her voice falling into a repetitive mumble of words, mostly involving the name of her late friend.

"Tsuyu. _Tsuyu._ Tsuyu, come back to me." Yaomomo tapped her on the shoulder. The shorter girl started again, before looking back up at her with hazy eyes. "Now continue. You said an unknown somebody entered the room. You called out to them and they did not respond."

"Oh, right. They didn't reply, and I think everyone just stayed still, except for me," Tsuyu said slowly, as if trying to kick her brain back into gear. "Nejire and Tamaki were still knocked up over Mirio, so I kept an ear out because I was curious. I couldn't really navigate in the dark, but I heard them shuffle around, stop for a short while, then run away quicker than they came. The lights came on soon after. I ran out to find people and gather them; Nejire suggested it between crying."

"Alright then. Thank you, Tsu," Yaomomo said. As she turned away, making to find another area to investigate, she couldn't help but cast a glance over her shoulder. Tsuyu was approaching Nejire's huddled form. She watched as the shorter kneeled down and wrapped her arms around the bluette, still and holding her close. Just beyond them, Yaomomo noticed Tamaki sitting with her arms over his head.

_So alone._

_Should I approach him? Or should I leave him alone?_

_What would he want..?_

But before she could do anything, the monitor clicked to life above. She turned to it, meeting Monokuma's crimson glare.

_"Investigation is now over! Please come down to the trial room ASAP! Upupupu... I'm so excited!"_

_Talking to Tsu must have taken longer than I expected... and I didn't even get to reconvene with Shouto and ask about his investigation results. I suppose we could share at the start of the trial._

She started towards the door, before casting another glance back to Mirio's corpse. Tsuyu had gotten up and was tugging on Nejire's hand, much alike a child dragging their mother into a toy store. Nejire responded slowly, wiping the tears from her face and allowing Tsuyu to lead her away. A pang of sorrow shot through Yaomomo's chest.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was alone. With the people in the room thinning out -only the Detective, Hitoshi, and Denki were still present-, he had returned to his favorite blonde's side, fingers clutching the deceased's bloody, limp hand. Yaomomo watched him for a moment; he was in his own little world. It wasn't like he would notice her.

_He looks so alone._

_Reminds me of when Kyouka died..._

_Shouto was the one who saved me. Ripped me away from the pain._

_What would I have done, had he not paid me any attention?_

_Would someone else have taken up my role of detective?_

_What do I do now?_

_What should I do for Tamaki..?_

_What does he want? I don't know him that well... would he want the girl who stuck her finger in his boyfriend's stab wound talking to him? Does he want that comfort? Or does he want to be left alone?_

_I don't know... I don't know..!_

"Hey. Yaomomo." She turned to see Hitoshi standing right behind her. He was tapping her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go."

The unspoken words were clear in his eyes.

_He wants to be left alone._

So Yaomomo allowed herself to be led away.

She cast a last glance behind her as she stepped out of the room.

Tamaki was looking up at her. She felt her heart skip and freeze, a chill rushing through her.

_What do I do?_

_His eyes..._

_They're filled with pleading, with sorrow, with loneliness..._

She held his pitiful gaze for a breath, before turning away. _I'm sorry, Tamaki._

_But I can't bear to look at you, not when knowing I might only be hurting you with this case._

"Come on, Tamaki," she said instead, pausing in the doorway, her expression shadowed, eyes on the wall ahead of her. "It's time for the trial. Can't be late."

She hurried after Hitoshi, her face burning. _I'm sorry, Tamaki._

_I'm so sorry._

_But I have to solve this case... for the greater good, right?_

_Or would solving it only hurt more of my classmates?_

_Hitoshi... are you right? Or am I right?_

_I don't know anymore..._

_I want it all to end..._

_I don't want any more of this..._

_So I must solve this case._

_Mirio, the Ultimate Hope, who only ever wanted to help others, never himself..._

_I have to put him to rest. I must unveil his cold-blooded murderer..._

_And I swear to god, I'll make this the last one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guesses on the killer? ovo


	42. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 5 - Class Trial

_Back in the trial room again, huh..?_

Yaomomo scanned her eyes around the trial circle. Tamaki and Nejire were dejected; the latter was still crying softly into her hands. The former was staring at the top of his podium, his expression shadowed. Yaomomo couldn't read him.

Tsuyu was muttering softly to herself, bouncing up and down on her toes, hands on the railing. Her eyes were dazed; laced with despair. Yaomomo dragged her gaze away. Denki was huddled on his podium, eyes downcast. He was like a shell; a hollow being, devoid of any light. _So unlike the lightning that used to charge his heart, his hands, his body..._

Mezou's eyes were also scanning over his classmates. They were sharp as ice; _does he still hate us?_ Their eyes met, locked for a split second, before Yaomomo turned away, the tension snapping like a rubber band.

Shouto had noticed her casting glances and met her gaze evenly. His eyes were calm; _comforting._ Yaomomo offered a hint of a smile to him, which he didn't return, but instead gave a small nod of acknowledgement to. _Almost as if he were saying, 'good luck.'_

Hitoshi wasn't looking at her. When she glanced at him, he side-eyed her, his expression emotionless. _He's like a monochrome; drained of anything that made him alive._

Staring up at Chisaki and Monokuma on the throne, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. _It's scary how this has just become a part of my life. A normal part of my routine._

"Let's get this show on the rooooooad~!" Monokuma grinned. "Go get 'em, kiddos!"

_...I guess that's our cue to start._

_>Class Trial : Begin!<_

"Shouto. Let's start with the results of your search," Yaomomo prompted. "We didn't get to ask you about it during investigation time."

"Gladly." Shouto glanced to his two investigation partners. "Mezou and Denki helped me skim through the entire school. Collectively, we discovered a few points of interest.

"One: the AC controls have all been set either ridiculously high or low. They were all deactivated after the power surge and required a reboot, but the set temperatures were to the extreme. Two: most appliances in the kitchen were plugged in and on. Every outlet was occupied by some item; the stove was on, a blender was plugged in, as was a mixer, and many other random items. Several outlets had a power strip attached, with even more appliances attached. All of them were simply running; not functioning to do anything but sap power.

"Three: all of the appliances in the laundry room were running, meaning the dryers and washing machines both. When we checked them, there was nothing inside any of them. Four: every outlet in the library was occupied by various things, mostly being lamps." Shouto paused. "All of these discoveries relate to my theory of a power surge being the reason for the blackout."

"H-Hey, Shouto, you didn't even include the most important discovery..." Denki suddenly spoke up, his voice soft.

"I was about to get to it," the Theorist replied calmly. "But since you discovered it, why don't you report it?"

"Ah, sure..." Denki fidgeted as everyone turned to him. "Um, in the vending machine in the cafeteria, there was another bottle of poison missing."

"Poison?" Tamaki echoed bleakly.

"Y-Yeah. You know how the bottom row has a bunch of poisons and toxins? There's two missing slots now... one was from... Kyouka..." His voice trailed off as he spoke her name, eyes lowering to the ground. _Oh dear._

"...and one from this current case." Shouto briskly finished Denki's sentence. "It must have been used in the murder."

"So let's discuss it," Yaomomo prompted. "What was the cause of dea-"

"No, I believe we should talk about the blackout," Shouto insisted. "All of the evidence around the school, spare for the poison, points to the cause behind the power outage. We should deal with that, first and foremost."

"...sure." _Feels nice not to be taking the wheel for once._

"I was thinking about it, and I realized-" Shouto continued, "-that the blackout occurring at such a time could have been a villain blunder."

"A villain blunder? What is that supposed to mean?" Mezou inquired coldly.

"Basically, what if the villains shut off the power to confuse us? Aren't they running this place? Who's to say they can't control the electricity? If we found them to be interfering by shutting down the power, then they could have interfered in this case -and past cases- further. That puts this entire game into jeopardy," Shouto said. "What if the villains killed Mirio?"

Silence followed the Theorist's words. _The villains killed him, huh..?_ Yaomomo mused. _How nice that would be... we wouldn't have to sentence another one of our classmates to death..._

_But, even if I want that to be the case... I know it's impossible. Because of what happened after the blackout..._

_>Select a Truth Bullet<_

_..._

_>Denki's Account : I got it.<_

"No, wait, Shouto," she spoke out. "That's wrong."

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?" the Theorist shot back, passive aggression edging his tone.

"You can't be completely sure the power outage was villain tampering. After the lights went out, Denki and I went to the main office and found the power switch. That's how we turned it back on. It's entirely plausible for it to have been a student who cut the power," Yaomomo explained.

"That doesn't completely _disprove_ it being the villains' fault," Shouto retorted.

"But why would the villains tamper with a crime scene anyway?" Hitoshi cut in coldly. "Their traitor is already unmasked. Why would they make the murder of a _hope fanatic_ more difficult? It doesn't add up." The violette's words were sharp as ice, but Yaomomo could hear the tremor in his voice as he spoke of Mashirao's murderer. _It hurts, doesn't it? Even if you try not to act it..._

"We should at least entertain the possibility of a classmate pulling the power," she spoke. "Come on, Shouto."

"...fine. I will admit, your theories are valid," Shouto slowly agreed. "Let's discuss."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #7, Pool of blood, Tsuyu's Account, Yaomomo and Shouto's Discussion, Laundry Room, Vending Machine<_

"The power outage... occurred right when the **announcement was playing..."** Denki said quietly.

"How was it caused?" Tsuyu murmured.

"Maybe someone **pulled the power switch in the office,"** Mezou suggested darkly.

"If they d-did, they would've moved a stepping stool to the switch, or had an accomplice," Denki hummed. "Moving the stool back to its c-correct place and also leaving before Yaomomo and I got there would be hard. And I d-don't think... we should g-go into the possibility of an accomplice yet..."

"Then what other choice do we have? How else could we shut off the power?" Tsuyu spoke out.

"The variety of electrical appliances running around the school imply a **power surge,"** Shouto replied smoothly. "I believe it's our only option."

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Yaomomo and Shouto's Discussion : Break!<_

"I already discussed this with you earlier, haven't I?" the Detective mused.

"But I stick by my thought," Shouto insisted, ever stubborn.

"In that case, let's ask the others what they say, after I present the counterclaim," Yaomomo replied. "I'm pretty sure that no matter what you try to do, it will be impossible to create a power surge in a school. As a functioning high school, this place had been designed to handle power usage. When there's hundreds of students doing god knows what and a large number of staff, there's bound to be a lot of electricity being used, and the school is supposed to be able to handle it all. If this were a smaller facility, or an older one, a power surge would work, but not here in a modern _school."_

"I'd agree with Yaomomo," Mezou said, unemotional as usual. "She has the right logic."

"S-Same here..." Denki murmured.

"And me," Tsuyu spoke out. "Yaomomo is right."

"If you're all going to agree with her logic, then go ahead," Shouto shrugged. "I'm just a theorist. I make theories. Most of them are supposed to be wrong, anyway."

_That doesn't keep the bitterness out of your voice, though._

"So how _did_ the power go out, if I am incorrect?" He brushed himself off and moved on with the conversation. "Would that lead us to believe someone manually shut it down?"

"I'm sure of it," Yaomomo agreed grimly. "Whether it be the villains, or a student... we can't be sure until we have more clues."

"Hey, hey!" Monokuma suddenly spoke up. "Please do remember that us villains have no use fiddling around with you guys! It's unlikely we would do anything! Heck, I don't think we even _have_ any controls except the security cameras in our possession!"

"...the bear's right," Chisaki added behind him. "The villain monitor base only has the camera footage. Nothing else. The power is controlled from the main office, and it's in your control."

"Whether or not we'll believe the words of villains is another story," Mezou snapped back at the throne. The two fell silent again.

"Putting aside the villains, which of us would possibly shut down the power?" Shouto continued.

_Who would shut down the power... it's..._

_>Select an Answer:_

_The killer_

_The victim_

_The villains_

_The traitor<_

_>The killer : I got it.<_

"That would be the killer," Yaomomo said. "They must have shut the power just as the announcement played, to create havoc..."

_...or to change the crime scene..._

"If that's the case, then Denki is suspicious. Hehe, case, what a funny pun," Tsuyu said offhandedly, her head seemingly in another place already. _But she's conscious enough to suspect others... Is this what our natural senses are coming to? Suspecting one another as a first defense?_

"H-Hey! Why me?!" Denki wailed.

"'Cuz you're the electrician," Tsuyu reasoned. "You're in charge of the power. You could easily cut it off, and you knew the location of the power switch in the office. Unless you could secretly use magic to find it, or something, it's impossible."

"But if he were the one who shut it off, why would he turn it back on?" Yaomomo reasoned in favor of her ally. "If he wanted it off, he could have just pretended he couldn't find it in the dark instead of hitting it."

"But how did he know where the switch was?" Tsuyu shot back.

"I-I found it in a prior investigation!" Denki blurted out.

Tense silence filled the room. People glanced at each other in suspicion; glares were exchanged. Yaomomo cast her gaze across the trial room. _We can't just do this... suspecting each other without any logic or evidence..._

"This is stupid," Mezou hissed. "We cannot begin determining a killer with no evidence. We haven't even talked about half the investigation results, for god's sake."

"He's right," the Detective reaffirmed quickly. "If were were going to suspect Denki, then how would you tie him back to Mirio? How would he kill him? Where? When? How? Why? We have nothing to base any arguments off of, so we should move on for now."

"They're both right," Shouto muttered. "Let's go on and talk about what we _do_ know, for sure. Meaning the Monokuma File." He gestured to Yaomomo. "Your turn."

"Right." _Looks like I'm taking the reigns again._ She took the tablet out and clicked it on. "The victim was Mirio Toogata. He died at about 11:30 in the morning, and one of his wounds is a ruptured appendix." She turned it off. "That's it."

"That's it..?" Denki murmured. "We don't even have anything to go off of..."

"Well, technically we do," Shouto cut in. "There's one topic we can start expanding on."

_The topic... that he's talking about... it's got to be..._

_>Select an answer:_

_Time of death_

_Cause of death_

_Ruptured appendix_

_Broken bones<_

_>Ruptured appendix : I got it.<_

"I see. You think we can deduce something from the ruptured appendix, right?" Yaomomo prompted.

"Correct. It's as if you can read my mind." Shouto chuckled. "Anyway, we know Mirio had a ruptured appendix. The question is... what caused that to happen?"

_The cause of the ruptured appendix... I can see it now..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Paring Knife : I can see it.<_

"There was a stab wound over his gut. It looked like it had been created by a blade... and Hitoshi found a paring knife behind the gym bench," Yaomomo explained. "It's very likely that that was the weapon in question; it's at the crime scene and was also covered in blood."

"If the weapon is the knife, then, considering the circumstances... do you have any idea of _who_ wielded it?" Hitoshi prompted.

"Well... it was near Nejire and Mirio's stuff-" Yaomomo saw Nejire flinch, "-and it was obviously right where Tamaki and Tsu were sitting." Tamaki had no reaction. "But that's inconclusive. We can't determine anything with just this info."

"But do we know when his appendix ruptured?" Mezou cut in. "He must have shown some sort of symptom when it did..."

_When Mirio's appendix ruptured... I have to solve this..._

"Give me a moment, then... I'll think of something."

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: Can we know for sure when his appendix ruptured?_   
_Left: Yes_   
_Right: No_   
_Right : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What caused Mirio's symptoms to spike?_   
_Left: When he got a stomachache_   
_Middle: When he drank poison_   
_Right: When Nejire kicked him_   
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: What happened shortly after the symptoms spiked?_   
_Left: Mirio died_   
_Right: Mirio went insane_   
_Left: Correct!<_

_>Success!_   
_Question 1: No_   
_Question 2: When Nejire kicked him_   
_Question 3: Mirio died<_

_>Break!<_

"It's impossible to determine when the appendix ruptured exactly," Yaomomo began. "But we do know when his symptoms spiked, directly before his death."

_"It was when I kicked him... right?"_

_>Break..!<_

"Mmh?" Yaomomo turned to the girl who had spoken out.

"His symptoms spiked... wh-when I kicked him... right?" Nejire's voice was small; it shuddered, the edges of a sob threatening to destroy her composure. Tears still welled in her eyes. "I...

_"I give up!_ I give up, okay?" Crystalline droplets spilled over her face as she wailed hysterically. She rose her head to meet Yaomomo's startled gaze; her eyes were alight with tears and despair and fragmented light_._ "I killed Mirio!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Nejire Hadou : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Monokuma File #7, AC controls, Kitchen setup, Shattered bones, Vending machine<_

"Explain yourself, Nejire," Yaomomo prompted. Quiet sobs escaped Nejire's lips as she broke down.

"I... I stuck that b-blade in my shoe, u-under my foot," Nejire cried. "Wh-When I kicked him, **I stabbed him in the gut!"**

"But-"

"I-i-it's the truth!" The bluette's breath hitched violently. "C-come on! Tamaki and Tsu can agree! Right?!"

_"She's lying."_

_>Break..?!<_

"...huh..?" Yaomomo turned to the one who had spoken out, who'd cut right through her and Nejire's debate like a blade through butter. "This is..."

_His voice is cold._

Tamaki's eyes were sharp as flint. He glared around the room, glazing over Nejire.

"E-Eh?" The girl in question seemed just as confused as everyone else in the trial room.

"You're lying, Nejire, aren't you?" The Florist said, venom underlying his words. "Because I killed Mirio."

Another lapse of silence. Yaomomo's eyes went from Nejire to Tamaki, confusion spinning her brain in circles. _Why are they doing this..?_

"Explain this, Tamaki." Shouto's words were calm, but the confusion in his eyes, in the air, was palpable. _He doesn't understand, either..._ Yaomomo shuddered, a nervous wave running through her core.

"I had the knife. I stabbed Mirio when we sat down." Tamaki's explanation was simple, blunt, straightforward.

"No, I killed Mirio!" Nejire sobbed.

"I killed him. Don't you remember?" Tamaki's voice wavered and cracked; tears were still visible in his eyes. "Stabbed him. His tears, his screams, his pain, his last words..." Tears began to run down his face; his words devolved to a pathetic sob. "I-I killed him..! I killed him, I k-killed him, he's d-dead, he's dead because of me!"

"N-No... No, that's..." Nejire cried, her words punctured by her hitching breath. "I... I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry-!"

"What the fuck are you two rambling on and on about?!" Yaomomo finally interjected. "Stop trying to declare yourself the blackened! It's only confusing us!"

"No... Yaomomo, why are you so mean..?" Nejire's voice was pitiful. Yaomomo felt her resolve shudder and crack like glass as the upperclassman's words struck her. _I'm... mean?_

"Y-You're just... a cruel, unemotional, unempathetic cold _bitch."_ Tamaki's words turned icy as he went on. "Y-You don't care about us... if you did, why would you be so insensitive? Wh-why do you drag us through all these trials, when we clearly don't want to, wh-when we all just want to _die?_ You're the one who should stop. Just- Just stop." He lowered his voice, grief thick in his words. "Stop forcing us to do this, please..."

Yaomomo felt her jaws glue together as Nejire and Tamaki's words bounced around in her skull. _Mean. Cruel. Bitch. Unemotional. Unempathetic. Cold. Insensitive._

_Are they right? Should I stop?_

She turned to Hitoshi, but he met her gaze with his own blank one. _He's unreadable._

"Y-You're so c-cruel..." Nejire sobbed, ripping Yaomomo's attention back to her. Tears were spilling down her face in a torrent; her cheeks and nose were red, her sky-blue eyes filled with sorrow. "Di-Digging through these cases, casting aside e-emotion, and human attachment and friendship and love... you're no better than a m-murderer!"

Another punch to the gut.

"You ignored m-me, when I most n-needed support." Tamaki's voice was weak; tears streamed down his face. _Are they angry ones, or ones of grief..?_ "You saw me, I noticed. I-I always notice." He took a quivering breath. "You i-ignored me, ignored my feelings, ignored everyone's feelings... you taint Mirio's wishes for hope and cooperation!"

His voice rose to a yell; a cry of rage. Yaomomo winced, flinching back into a shell, wishing he'd stop, wishing he knew that she already got the point, she got it, so _stop yelling at me, please stop, just stop, because can't you see what you're doing to me?_

She supposed she deserved this, though, as his words rang in her ears.

"Y-You do nothing... but dig through our friends' corpses like they're nothing but objects. You dig through these cases like our feelings are w-worthless..!" But Tamaki kept going, and the words kept hitting her, piercing her skin like knives, like a thousand needles. "Y-You call yourself our savior... when y-you're the worst, you're the absolute worst!" he sobbed.

A beat of tense silence followed Tamaki's outburst. A swift glance around the room made the thoughts of each person vividly clear.

Nejire sniffled pitifully and wiped tears out of her eyes, but she stared at Yaomomo. Tsuyu was rocking back and forth, dazed and obviously completely out of it. Denki was huddled, hands and arms crossed over his chest, frightened and attempting to will his body to shrink. Mezou was stoically gazing at Tamaki, observing with a neutral gaze. Shouto looked startled; by Tamaki's outburst or by the words spoken, Yaomomo wasn't sure. Hitoshi was smugly satisfied, the hints of a smile quirking the edges of his mouth.

"Come on, everyone," Nejire whimpered. "It's over. It's done. Let's just vote, please..."

"W-Wait! Hold on a second, it's been all of two minutes-!" Shouto began to protest. "We can't just-"

"Sorry, Shouto." The Florist's voice was dark. "If you're all going to disagree, we'll have to do this the hard way."

_>Double!<_

"Y-Yeah! We'll... we already f-figured this out, so why not vote?" Nejire said, her breath still hitching.

_>Triple!<_

"Nejire's always right... she's always right..!" Tsuyu suddenly blurted out.

_"Listen to us!"_

_"L-Let's vote!"_

_"Nejire's right!"_

_>Mass Panic Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Kitchen Setup, Tsuyu's Account, Yaomomo's Autopsy, Pool of Blood, Power Outage<_

"Come on now, guys..." Tamaki's voice was drained.

"Listen to Tamaki!" Nejire cried.

"Everyone, let's believe in Nejire!" Tsuyu's voice was insistent; _she believes in her that much?_

~~~

"Let's vote or something, please..." A pleading tone.

"This makes no sense. Who are we even supposed to vote for? If you wanted to trick us, you're terrible at this," Mezou said coldly.

"Tsu. Why are you trusting her so much?" Hitoshi's voice was cool.

~~~

"H-Hey, Tamaki..." Denki stuttered.

"I-It doesn't matter! We can... figure it out, right..?" Tears edged Nejire's eyes once more, threatening to spill over.

"Because... she's the true Ultimate Hope, our real hero!" Tsuyu's voice was hollow; distant.

~~~

"You heard me. It's vote or follow _her..."_ The way Tamaki said those words sent a jolt down Yaomomo's spine.

"Hmph. Whatever. I don't really care, so I'll roll with this," Mezou decided, arms crossed.

"She's taken care of me... so I trust her!" Warmth edged her words.

~~~

"Come on, Denki. Choose me. **Believe in my word,"** Tamaki insisted.

"Eh? That fast..? Okay..." Nejire appeared surprised as he agreed to her plot.

**"If I were you, I'd trust her too!"** Tsuyu finished.

~~~

"..." Denki was silent, his eyes fixed to the floor. _He's shaking._

"Hey, Nejire... just what are you plotting?" Shouto's words were cold as ice, sharp as a nail.

"Mmh... I'll go with this." Hitoshi's voice was quiet.

~~~

"Are you defying?" Tamaki suddenly said, his tone dark.

"..!" Nejire's eyes widened; not the best poker face, to say the least.

"As long as I don't have to follow Yaomomo like a dog on a leash, it's fair game," he continued coldly.

~~~

"O-Okay! I'll vote!"Denki gave in.

**"You're lying, aren't you?"** Shouto hissed.

"Th-Thank you! That makes me really happy..." Tsuyu said with a glowing smile on her face, and a thousand knives seemed to pierce Yaomomo's heart all at once.

_"No, that's wrong!"_

_>Break..?!<_

"Yaomomo, snap out of it!" Shouto's voice was sharp. "Come on, think! Think about it, about their words! You have evidence against them, right? I know it. I know, because I know they're lying..!"

Yaomomo was silent, still reeling from Tamaki and Nejire's prior onslaught. But Shouto's voice was making it through to her; it was a light, a beacon in the night, a beacon guiding her to land as she was tossed across the thrashing seas. _They're lying, huh..?_

Despite everything, the darkness still overwhelmed any sign of hope.

"Why should I... try..?" She spoke, her voice hushed. "When everyone's against me... should I even bother to do anything when nobody will listen..?"

"Well, you're wrong." Shouto's voice bluntly shattered the haze around her all at once. It wasn't because his voice was sharp or declarative, no; it was purely because he just sounded so genuinely _kind._ Warmth bubbled in Yaomomo's stomach, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her silver eyes widened; she met his gaze, feeling herself becoming more and more absorbed in him and the string holding them together, holding _her_ together. "I'm listening. I always have."

"Why would you trust me so much?" Yaomomo murmured, heat brushing her eartips. "When everyone else is opposing me, why bother..?"

"Because I believe in you and your skills, miss Detective," Shouto continued, his voice soft. He graced her with the ghost of a smile. "Come on. Me and you, against them. Numbers don't matter; it's a problem of who has the better evidence."

"...Yeah. Yeah, that's got to be right." At his encouragement, Yaomomo turned away to sweep across the rest of the trial room.

Tamaki was staring at her blankly, and Nejire gazed pitifully up at the pair conversing. She looked away as Yaomomo glanced to her. Hitoshi was indifferent as ever, as was Mezou. Denki fidgeted nervously on the spot, while Tsuyu continued rocking back and forth like a flag in the wind.

"Come on, Tamaki, Nejire..." Yaomomo began. "What's your motive here?"

"..." Tamaki was silent; he only glared back at her. Nejire now stared at her feet, sniffling

"Upupupu..!" Yaomomo turned to the direction of that trademark laugh. Monokuma was grinning down at her, malice alight in his every cell. "A split opinion, eh..? Seems like a good time for a scrum debate!"

When met with silent glares, Monokuma only laughed and activated the movement of the trial room.

As light filled the room, Yaomomo briefly wondered if this was what heaven in hell looked like.

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_Should we vote for Tamaki and Nejire?_

_Vote: Tamaki, Nejire, Mezou, Hitoshi, Tsuyu, Denki_

_Don't Vote: Shouto, Yaomomo<_

"Nobody's listening, Yaomomo. Give it up," Tamaki snarled.

_"Shouto..!"_

"I already told you, I'm **listening!** Our efforts aren't fruitless!" Shouto declared.

"We already gave our accounts, and everyone at the scene agreed to them," Nejire choked out, her voice still shuddering from her breakdown earlier.

_"Shouto..!"_

"But your **accounts** don't even match with each other! It makes no sense," the Theorist continued.

"Tamaki and Nejire were there at the scene; they should know exactly what happened," Mezou said cooly.

_"I'll do it..!"_

"Just because they were at the **scene** doesn't mean they're telling the truth," Yaomomo retorted.

"If it's a question of following them or you, I'd pick Tamaki. Even if it meant I died," Hitoshi hissed.

_"Shouto..!"_

"This isn't a matter of favorites; everyone's going to **die** if we vote wrong!" Shouto snapped.

"But... Nejire's always right... I can't see myself untrusting her!" Tsuyu cried.

_"I've got this..!"_

"Even if you trust her, Nejire isn't always right. You can't base your **trust** on that," Yaomomo said gently.

"T-Tamaki's right... they've stepped up and revealed the truth, so we should just vote..!" Denki stuttered.

_"I'll do it..!"_

"The killer **stepping** up so soon... don't you think that's a little suspicious?" Yaomomo asked slowly.

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>W - D - W - A - S - D - W<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"Come on, everyone!" Shouto yelled. "Listen to Yaomomo! She's our Ultimate Detective, right? She's got to have something under her belt!"

"The way you're phrasing that makes it seem as if _you,_ mister Theorist, are coming up with a blank," Tamaki replied coolly. "Are you just throwing responsibility onto her, hoping she can come up with something when you can't?"

"..." Shouto was silent. He merely turned to Yaomomo, handing her the spotlight. "Yaomomo, you heard him. He's asking for your evidence. What puts Tamaki and Nejire's tales into jeopardy?"

_Evidence to put them in jeopardy... it's got to be..!_

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!_

_What piece of evidence clashes with Tamaki and Nejire's accounts?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆 🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_>BODY DISCOVERY ANNOUNCEMENT : I can see it.<_

"That's right..!" Yaomomo started. "The body discovery announcement!"

"..!" For a moment, Tamaki's composure seemed to shatter, before he righted himself in half a heartbeat. "What about it?" He asked, aggravated; he was trying to keep the tremor out of his voice, but Yaomomo could still tell.

"Well, _all_ evidence points to you, Nejire, and Tsu being the three who set off the announcement. If nobody else steps up and says that they saw the body, then that sets you three out of suspicion," Yaomomo explained. "Because the murderer does not count as one of the three to activate the announcement."

"If anyone would like to step up and say they helped trigger the announcement, you may do so now," Shouto added. When nobody responded, he sighed. "That settles it then."

"But what if someone else _did_ see the body, and is just not admitting it?" Tsuyu piped up. "What if it was something suspicious, like they were in the vents or something? Or maybe they weren't supposed to be there. It could cause suspicion. You can't determine anything."

"E-Even so, Nejire and Tamaki's accounts are both flawed!" Denki suddenly cried out.

_Huh? I thought-_

"Hey, Denki. I thought you were on my side," Tamaki stated coldly.

"B-But... Yaomomo deserves to succeed..." Denki said, his voice wavering. Yaomomo offered him the closest thing she could to a warm look, and he managed a shaky smile back. "I-I believe in her... more than I'd ever in you..."

"Thank you, Denki." Yaomomo felt gratitude bubble in her chest. _I'm glad you're my friend._ "Now... what were you saying about their accounts being flawed?"

"Oh! W-Well, Nejire said she had the blade in her shoe, and she stabbed him as she kicked, right?" Denki began. "Th-There's something off about that..."

_What Denki means... the fundamental flaw with Nejire's account, it's-_

_>Select an option:_

_Blood_

_Blade_

_Accuracy_

_All of the above<_

_>All of the above : I got it.<_

"I get it..." Yaomomo said softly. Denki nodded to her to keep speaking; she complied easily. "First off, she didn't bring a pair of shoes to change. We would've found a bloodied pair during investigation; it's not like she could change her bloody shoes in the blackout anyway, and Tsu and Tamaki would have noticed.

"Putting a blade under your foot is also not a good idea; there's got to be an easier way to stab someone without cutting yourself. Her impeccable accuracy, perfectly striking the gut, is also strange. Tsu's account earlier contrasts this tale as well; I'm not sure why Tsu is following her, despite her nonsense, but I'm sure it's nothing to mull over," she concluded. _Considering Tsu's mental state._

"..." Nejire was silent in response.

"Well, Nejire, do you have anything to say?" Mezou prompted, indifferent as ever.

"Um... umm..." The Beauty Pageant Star seemed anxious; indecisive. "Uh, okay, fine! Fine! I'm sorry! I lied," she hastily confessed.

"Why did you lie..?" Shouto's voice was tinged with confusion as he questioned her.

"Ah... wahh... I don't know..." The girl's voice went quiet, and she dissolved into tears again.

"...best not to question her now," the Theorist decided. "Denki, you also mentioned Tamaki's account being flawed. Can you continue and explain that?"

"O-oh! Well..." He began to speak, but a cold glare from Tamaki cut his words short. He fell silent, looking to Yaomomo instead for help.

_Alright, the problem with his account..._

_>Select an option:_

_Contrasts Nejire's Account_

_Contrast's Tsuyu's Account_

_Contrasts Denki's Account<_

_>Contrasts Nejire's Account : I got it.<_

"Oh, I know," Yaomomo muttered. "The very fact Tamaki and Nejire are working together, yet their accounts are clearly contradicting, is incredibly strange," she explained smoothly. "Also, I don't care how disturbed Tsu may be; if she watched Tamaki literally _stab_ his boyfriend in the gut, she would definitely at least speak of it to me when giving her account earlier." _Her impaired judgement in how much to say also works in my favor. Not that that's a good thing... if anything, it only worries me more._

Tamaki was quiet in return. He appeared to be glaring daggers at the ground instead.

"Yaomomo. You have no solid evidence against Tamaki; you just proved that. You keep speaking of Tsu's account, and Tamaki and Nejire's prior accounts," Hitoshi said, his words all facts and flint. "But consider this: what if all three of them are working together on a murder plot, and they agreed to lie together about their accounts initially, before re-lying during the trial?"

"But- But Tsu-"

"What if her entire mental state is a fabrication?" Hitoshi shot back.

"Hitoshi!" Nejire cried out. Yaomomo looked sharply to her; tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and her face was flushed, but her words were filled with anger. "How- How could you-?!"

"This is a _killing game,"_ Hitoshi replied calmly. "Anything can happen."

"N-No... Tsu... why would she do such a horrible thing as fake mental illness?!" Nejire wailed. "Of all the things... how dare you suggest such a thing..?!"

"Hmph. If you insist," Hitoshi hissed spitefully, turning away.

"If I had a word to put in, this is all just one big waste of time," Mezou snapped. "We're getting nowhere. Tamaki and Nejire are obviously working together. Their fake accounts even contrast. Just move on. There's nothing worth digging here."

"He's right," Shouto piped in.

"If you both say so..." Yaomomo cleared her throat. "Come on, guys. You heard them. Let's move on. We can come back to this later; there's nothing worth getting out of this right now."

"Y-Yeah! Listen to Yaomomo!" Denki agreed.

"I sure as hell hope you have a plan..." Hitoshi grumbled.

"We should at least recap. Everything's gotten so confusing with Tamaki and Nejire's accounts, so it's best to go through what we know for sure," Shouto began.

"That sounds like a good idea." Yaomomo internally breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally, we can get back on track._

A single glance around the trial room, of course, quenched all comfort in her heart. Hitoshi was hateful as ever, Tamaki silent as the night, Nejire was still weeping, and Mezou appeared cold as ice.

_We've got a long way to go, huh?_

_I may not know if what I am doing is good or bad... but as long as Shouto believes in me, I think I can continue._

"Let's discuss."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Nejire's Account, Tsu's Account, Shattered bones, Monokuma File #7, Vending Machine<_

"Mirio, Tamaki, Tsu, and Nejire were in the gym," Shouto began. "They were training."

"M-Mirio, along with Mezou and Shouto, were sick... they had some stomach bug." Denki's voice was soft as he recalled the illness that came prior to the death.

"While they were training, **Nejire kicked Mirio in the gut,"** Mezou continued. "A short while later, Mirio went into a fit."

"A-And then... he was dead..." Tsuyu concluded shakily.

"This timeline should be correct," Shouto reasoned. "It's based off of Tsu and Nejire's accounts from before the trial; Tsu's contribution in this points it even more to be true." _Considering her mental state, I don't think she'd be able to lie so smoothly..._

"Looking at the body, what other injuries did Mirio have?" Mezou inquired. "From an overview, I thought he just had the stab wound, the appendix, and **a broken bone."**

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Shattered bones : Break!<_

"You are only partially correct," Yaomomo spoke out. "Based on my autopsy, most of the bones in Mirio's body had mysteriously shattered."

"E-Eep-?!" Denki started. "M-Most of his... bones?"

"It's strange, alright," Shouto murmured. "What could have caused such widespread destruction of his body? And someone so strong, too..."

_Something that could have caused Mirio's bones to shatter... what about..?_

_>Select a truth bullet!<_

_..._

_>Vending machine : I got it.<_

"How about poison from the vending machine?" the Detective suggested.

"Poison from the vending machine, huh?" Hitoshi mused bitterly. "Sounds plausible. The villains have countless resources in their hands. It's not a stretch for them to make something that made bones brittle. The weakness of his body could have been triggered during his thrashing fit."

"If that's the case, why did he start thrashing in the first place?" Tsuyu asked. "Ooh. Hehe. That rhymed."

"She has a good point. Not the rhyming part, I mean, the first half," Shouto said hastily. "Why _did_ he start spasming and violently tossing about?"

_The cause of his fit... I should be able to find that..._

_>Mind Mine : Start!<_

_..._

_>Bottle of Poison : I see it.<_

"What if... Mirio was not only poisoned with one, but _two_ poisons?" Yaomomo asked. "The second poison could have caused his appendix to violently rupture at once, instead of the usual slow deflation ruptured appendixes go through in more natural cases. That sudden surge of agony, in addition to the weakened bones and concoction of poison, would be enough to make anyone break."

"Since when did you have a doctorate's degree in medicine?" Hitoshi huffed, suspicion edging his voice.

"I have a lot of free time, and the library proves to be filled with information. You really can get lost in those shelves for hours," Yaomomo shot back. That shut him up.

"A-Anyway, where would one get this... this second poison?" Denki asked nervously.

"Maybe the nurse's office," Shouto suggested with a shrug. "The villains have placed weapons everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if there was poison stuck in the laundry room, or a supply closet, amidst other junk."

"Mister Theorist is right!" Monokuma piped up, apparently seeing himself as helpful in the discussion. "There's various devices for killing all over the school, in all the places you'd least expect!" He grinned maniacally. Chisaki tapped him on the head with a gloved finger to shut his jaws. "Oopsie! Might've said too much." Another giggle, another irritated tap.

"So... Mirio was poisoned..?" Tsuyu mused. "That's... weird."

"Yeah! How would you poison Mirio?" Denki asked. "And... and what of the rest of the people who got sick..?! Are they going to... die... too..?"

"I don't think so," Shouto spoke up. "If Mezou and I were poisoned the same way as Mirio, I think we'd be dead by now, to be honest."

"Then how did the blackened poison him fatally, but spare the rest of us?" The Heavylifter inquired.

_How Mirio was poisoned... I should be able to figure that out!_

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #7, Paring knife, AC controls, Vending machine, Tsuyu's Account<_

"H-How could someone poison three people, and have only **one** of the victims... die?" Denki murmured.

"What if it was luck? They set out three traps, one of which was fatal," Tsuyu suggested. "Hehe. Sounds like Mirio is the Ultimate Lucky Student, in this case."

"If it were luck, what if the blackened accidentally killed one of their friends, or someone they actually cared about?" Shouto prompted.

"What if they had no friends, and just wanted to kill like playing Russian Roulette?" Tsuyu retorted.

"Hey, um..." Nejire's voice was small, but the room went quiet as she spoke. She swiped at the tears in her eyes. "Mirio took a sip... of water... right before his fit. What if they **poisoned his drink..?"**

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Tsuyu's Account : Break!<_

"Hold on, Nejire," Yaomomo cut in. "According to both you and Tsu, the four of you went to the gym to spar, right?"

"Y-Yeah... yeah, that's right!" Nejire cried decisively.

"Did any of you, other than Mirio, bring a water bottle as well?"

"Yeah..."

"Did you all get the water from the same place?"

"Yes... we got it from the kitchen sink," Nejire explained softly.

"Then it isn't possible the water was poisoned," Yaomomo decided. "People other than Mirio have been using the tap all morning, and the rest of us are fine. Even moreso, just poisoning the kitchen sink is near impossible. If the entire water system was contaminated, we'd all be dead by now."

"Oh... that's..." Nejire trailed off, falling silent and averting her eyes. "...you're smart..."

"Hmm... if it's not the water..." Shouto appeared deep in thought, a hand to his chin. "Oh! What if... the killer poisoned all of us, but only fatally to Mirio? Mezou and I, being poisoned non-fatally, were supposed to be distractors, to throw us off the scent."

"Oooooh, I get it," Tsuyu said slowly. "They're trying to disguise the cause of death by poisoning extra people. How smart, ribbit, ribbit."

"Um... all of the sick people fell ill right after the banquet..." Nejire spoke up, her voice shaky. "So... that must mean..."

_>Select the correct option:_

_Before the banquet_

_During the banquet_

_After the banquet<_

_>During the banquet : I got it.<_

"It must have been during the banquet, right?" Yaomomo asked. "It's the most plausible. You could poison the food or something."

"If that's the case... how would you fatally poison just Mirio?" Hitoshi pushed.

_How to poison just Mirio, without killing anyone else... If I just think logically, everything should come together..!_

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: Could the food have been poisoned in the kitchen?_   
_Left: Yes_   
_Right: No_   
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: Could Mirio's food specifically have been poisoned in the cafeteria?_   
_Left: No_   
_Right: Yes_   
_Left: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: What could have been poisoned?_   
_Left: Mirio's plate_   
_Middle: The silverware_   
_Right: The drinks_   
_Right: Correct!<_

_>Success!_   
_>Question 1: No_   
_Question 2: No_   
_Question 3: The drinks<_

_>Break!<_

"Ah! I've got it!" Yaomomo declared.

"Hm? And what has our precious Detective thought up this time?" Mezou inquired.

"To figure out what could have been poisoned during the banquet, we first have to outrule some more obvious answers," Yaomomo began. "First off, it couldn't have been the food."

"Why not?" Tsuyu cut in. "Isn't that the easiest? Poison the dishes, Mirio eats it, and he's down."

_Why the dishes can't be poisoned... It's because..._

_>Select the correct answer:_

_Because only Mirio was poisoned_

_Because there was no poison in the kitchen_

_Because all food was prepared by someone trustworthy<_

_>Because only Mirio was poisoned : I've got it.<_

"It's because only Mirio was fatally poisoned," Yaomomo explained. "You cannot control what food Mirio takes. And there's no dish that only Mirio ate from."

"F-Following that logic... what if s-someone poisoned Mirio's plate?" Denki asked.

"That's also not possible. It would be far too suspicious if you touched Mirio's plate when it was right in front of him," Shouto retorted.

"He's right," Yaomomo reaffirmed. "The only thing that could've been poisoned, the one thing that was handed out specifically to each person, was the drinks."

"S-Someone... poisoned Mirio's drink..?" Nejire spoke out. Her voice shuddered; tears streaked down her face.

"How..?" Mezou's voice was softly incredulous.

_Of course. They were the two who prepared the drinks._

"So someone poisoned Mirio's drink," Shouto murmured. "Who could have done it..?"

Well, for starters," Hitoshi began, "the two who made the drinks-"

"Hey, hey."

"What?" Hitoshi snapped, turning to Tsuyu.

"I remember something," she muttered. "I remember seeing Tamaki and Mirio exchanging drinks and doing all sorts of lovey-dovey couple stuff."

A beat of silence followed the short girl's words. Denki turned to the Florist in question, who stood stiffly, shadowed gaze fixed to the floor. "H-Hey, Tamaki... it's okay! She- She's got to be mistaken..!"

"It's okay, Denki."

"Wh-What..?"

"It's okay, Denki." Tamaki looked up, tears like crystals gleaming in his eyes. He turned away from the Electrician to address the room as a whole. "I'm sorry for lying earlier. You can stop now."

"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice shuddered. "What are you..?"

Tamaki exhaled, as if ridding all the sins from his body in a singular breath, and the tears slipped down his face.

"I killed Mirio."


	43. Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair - Part 6 - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for post-trial: c*tting, eye-touching, psychological manipulation

"T-Tamaki?!" Nejire cried out. "What do you m-mean..?"

Yaomomo could only stare at the scene unfolding before her. Confusion riddled her thoughts. _Tamaki? I thought we already figured him out..._

_What is he doing..?_

"I killed M-Mirio," Tamaki said, this time his voice shuddering. "I poisoned my own drink and traded with him, because I knew he'd take it- he trusted me, I trusted him, and now he's _dead_ and _gone_ and it's my fault, it's my fault, everything is my fault-" His words were coming faster and faster, the hollow, empty feeling of loss resonating in them. He took a quivering breath. "A-And... I did work with Nejire..."

"Eh? Nejire?" Tsuyu turned to her blue-haired friend. "Why would you..?"

"I... I..." Nejire seemed at a loss for words. She was breaking down again, droplets of diamond lighting up her eyes like stars, dying stars ready to burst and finally break. "Tamaki... why..?"

"She helped poison the drink, since she was preparing them," Tamaki continued, his voice becoming more and more frantic, ever more anxious and strained. "She even went as specific as to give _me_ Mirio's favorite flavor, just so he'd take it, because we'd thought everything through, we had this whole plot worked out to kill Mirio, to backstab him, and- and-"

Tears were falling down his face like rivers, like the glorious rivers of heaven falling down to earth and soaking into the ground, soaking all the way to Tartarus and vaporizing into sacredly divine smoke and steam. _Like angels crashing down all the way to hell on broken, bloody wings._

"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice was hopelessly pathetic, agonizingly helpless; she seemed incapable of doing anything but stare at her friend and cry. Unspoken words of betrayal glistened like glass over her expression, over her teary eyes and reddened face.

"I've given in!" Tamaki suddenly wailed. "I give up! This is all my fault! I wish... I wish I hadn't killed Mirio! I wish I hadn't betrayed him! I wish I could've had hope, wish I didn't kill the one person who I trusted! I wish I didn't kill the only person I loved!" The tears kept falling, kept cascading down his face, down his cheeks. "But I did! I _fucking_ did, I'm just a stupid fucking traitor, and I regret it, I regret everything that's happened to this day, so please! Just vote for me! _Kill me and let me go to hell already!"_

Heavy silence followed his words, punctured only by his quiet sniffles and stifled sobs. Yaomomo could only stare at his feet; to gaze upon his broken, terribly human face would be too much for her.

But there was something wrong, there had to be, because _Tamaki can't be the killer, so why is he masquerading as so?_

"C-Come on, everyone," Tamaki mumbled. "Please... kill m-"

_"Not so fast..!"_

_>Break!<_

"Hold on, Tamaki, please," Yaomomo pleaded. He turned hollow eyes to her. "We can't..."

"O-Oh, so you suddenly found the ability to feel human emotion, h-hm?" he managed to say through his sobs; he was trying his best to make his words angry and spiteful, but his heart wasn't in it. "A-All of a sudden... you have a problem with killing me?"

"Th-That's... that's not what I meant!" Yaomomo retorted. He peered at her with an unreadable expression as she continued on. "There's no way you're the killer... I can't possibly let us vote for you! You're going to kill us all!"

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Tamaki Amajiki : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Banquet Details, Body Discovery Announcement, Monokuma File #7, Tsuyu's Account<_

"Wh-What are you doing, Yaomomo?" Tamaki asked. "Why are you doubting me? I'm the killer! I killed Mirio, and I deserve to take the punishment! It's my fault, so why are you opposing me?"

"Because you can't be the killer, you can't!" Yaomomo cried back. "It's impossible!"

"A-Are you sure about that?" Tamaki cried, crystal droplets slipping down his face. "Y-you can't be serious... you c-can't be!" A sob took hold of his words, strangling them. He paused and continued, his fingers raking through his messy hair, twirling the navy-dyed lock by his ear. "Th-there's **no evidence** against me being the killer, i-is there?"

_"I will cut through your words."_

_>Body Discovery Announcement : Cut!<_

"There is still one piece of evidence against you," Yaomomo insisted. "It's impossible you were the killer because you helped trigger the body discovery announcement."

"I thought we already outruled that," Tsuyu piped up. "What if a different person had been standing there, by the door, in the vents, or something?"

"If that's the case, they may step up now," Yaomomo interjected. "Please... tell the truth. This is the one piece of evidence that may determine Tamaki's account."

A beat of silence. The tension in the air was palpable; Yaomomo could only hope and pray that someone wouldn't step up. She was _sure_ Tamaki was innocent, but she couldn't direct all the votes away from him if she didn't have evidence.

_Please... don't let anyone move..._

_The silence stretched on._

"I-It was me."

"Eh?!" Yaomomo turned to the one who had spoken out, silver eyes wide.

"I- I saw the death! I watched Mirio die from the doorway. S-Sorry I didn't mention it earlier!" Denki's voice was fearful; edged with a frantic anxiety. "I'm so sorry I kept quiet..! Please don't... please don't hurt me..!"

A beat of silence. Yaomomo could only stare at the blonde, at the tears spilling over his hazy golden eyes.

_Denki..._

"W-Well, it's all settled, then, ri-right?" Tamaki's voice shuddered. "Come on. Let's vote, please..."

Panic was rising in Yaomomo's gut. She instinctively turned to Shouto, to her partner in anti-crime. His expression was muddled with confusion; he didn't know what was happening either. When he met her eyes, she could see the despair in them; their light had gone out.

_It's over._

_I can't stop this._

_I can't stop Tamaki... even if I think he's wrong..._

_But what if he's right? What if I'm just overthinking everything..?_

_Stop it, Yaomomo. Just go with the trial._

"Um, okay then," she began, her voice wavering. "Let's... let's do the closing argument, review everything we know. _This is i-"_

_"WAIT!"_

_>Break!<_

_..._

_Huh?_

"Guys, please... h-hold on a second!" Nejire called out. Tears slipped down her face in a river, one by one, droplets filled with guilt and melancholy, but she appeared dead-set on what she was about to say. "Let me speak first!"

"Wh- What? Neji-" Tamaki tried to cut in, but she screamed over him, drowning his voice in her own.

"TAMAKI'S LYING!" she screamed. "HE'S LYING! HE'S TRYING TO KILL US ALL!"

"Wh-What are you saying, Nejire?" Tamaki inquired meekly, his voice full of sorrow. "I'm s-so sorry... has Mirio... has Mirio's death finally driven you over the e-"

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE'S LYING! HE DIDN'T KILL MIRIO!" Nejire's voice was full of passion, full of unadulterated grief and sorrow. "I DIDN'T PREPARE HIS DRINK!"

"H-Hey, Nejire, calm down..!" Yaomomo cut in. "Take a deep breath and speak."

"Okay. Okay..." Nejire seemed to deflate a little; she took a deep, quivering inhale. "Umm... at the banquet, M-Mezou and I were preparing the drinks, right?"

"She is correct," Mezou reaffirmed.

"W-Well, I didn't make Tamaki's drink! Mezou did!" Nejire insisted, her voice rising once more. "Mezou's the killer! He killed Mirio!"

"Nejire, shut up! Just- Just shut up!" Tamaki suddenly snapped, whirling upon the bluette. An expression of unreasonably harsh anger slipped over his face. "You don't know what you're saying! You handed me my drink; it was cherry, right?! You know I don't like cherry but Mirio does, so you gave me cherry!"

"But here's the thing: I didn't _make_ the cherry drinks!" Nejire screamed back, her voice cracking. "Mezou and I divvied up the flavors! I prepared the lemon, apple, and grape ones! Mezou made the orange and cherry ones!"

"..." Mezou himself stayed silent, opting to observe the dispute with an icy expression instead.

"H-Hey! Guys!" Tsuyu suddenly cut into the argument before Tamaki could throw another set of sharp retorts at Nejire. "I... I don't know much about what happened in the kitchen... but I can say one thing!"

"Well? Spill the beans," Hitoshi prompted.

"The entire time she was in the kitchen working with drinks, she was with Mezou," Tsuyu explained. "Mezou never left the kitchen while you were working, right? He never left you alone, right?" She turned to her older friend.

"Y-Yeah... Yeah, that's true!" Nejire confirmed.

"Well, at one point, _Mezou_ was alone in the kitchen," Tsuyu continued. "When Nejire was taking me to my seat in the cafeteria, Mezou was alone, since everyone else was already sitting down. There's no time when Nejire could have shoved some poison into a glass when Mezou was right next to her!"

"..." Tamaki was quiet, his gaze shadowed as he stared at the floor.

"..." Mezou was quiet too, his eyes closed in concentrated isolation.

"Well, Tamaki?" Yaomomo turned to the ravenette. "Got anything to say to that?"

"Don't even try to lie again," Hitoshi stated, his voice colder than the darkest winter night. "Just tell us the truth. Why did you try to kill all of u-"

"Okay, okay! I get it! I give up!" Tamaki cried out. "I give up, okay?!"

_That's what you said last time,_ Yaomomo thought bitterly, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice had gone soft. She was still weeping.

Tamaki himself seemed to hesitate before allowing himself to speak. "...why did you have to ruin it, Nejire?" His voice was plaintive; tears welled in his dark eyes. "Why do you ruin everything you touch?"

There was no hatred in his voice; the words themselves were as deadly as knives already.

Nejire visibly flinched; a sob rose in her throat. The blood of the wounds Tamaki had just torn open without mercy nor regret was soaking through her expression, through the despair and regret and self-hatred that became visible in her every breath. "B-Because... because I don't want to die!"

Her words were thick with grief, with heart-wrenching passion. "I-I don't want you to die! I don't want to know in my last moments that one of my best friends killed themselves, killed me, killed Tsu and Denki and Yaomomo and everyone in this room! I don't want to live with that, nor carry that to hell with me!"

A wave of quiet flooded through the trial circle once more, like a white cloud of noxious gas. Tamaki was staring, wide-eyed and teary, at the bluette, who was wiping at her face with the back of her hand. Yaomomo couldn't rip her gaze away from them, from the scene before her, either.

"I... I'm sorry..." Nejire's voice was weak, small as a child's. "I'm so sorry..."

As she fell into silence, Tamaki let out a shuddering sigh. "I guess... this is it. I have to explain myself now, hm?"

"If you're going to make a speech, hurry up already! I'm getting bored up here!" Monokuma suddenly called out, his voice a harsh throw back into reality. _This is a trial. We still haven't figured out the killer. And the villains are getting impatient..._

"I... Originally my plan was to get everyone to vote for me. That way, we would get an incorrect majority, the real killer would be exposed, and then we'd all be executed," Tamaki stated.

"Why... did you want us all to die..?" Tsuyu's voice was fearful; good to know she has enough sense to be scared of death.

"It's... I..." Tamaki seemed at a loss of words for a minute. He clenched his fists at his side, anxiety radiating from him in waves. He let out a sigh, tearing up once more at the mere thought of summoning words to explain himself. "It's because I wanted to carry out Mirio's last wish."

"What do you mean?" Hitoshi snapped. "There is _no_ way Mirio told you to kill everyone."

"No, no, he didn't say that..." Tamaki murmured. "But... he told me... to get you all out of here..."

_Huh..?_

"He told me to get us all out of this living hellscape, get us out of the Killing Game," Tamaki explained, franticness creeping into his voice again. "Isn't just dying a perfectly plausible way to escape this? Even hell itself is better than this eternal torture, don't you think? Aren't I genius? Aren't I right? I've got to be, right? Right?!"

Words spilled over his tongue in an unfiltered torrent; a desperate plea for validation, validation for his questionable actions that he himself thought were of utmost reason. Yaomomo stared at him, at the startled expression painted over his face, at the tears dripping from his eyes, at his hands raking through his hair, at his _eyes,_ his dark, hollow eyes.

_An expression of despair._

"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice was haunted. "Of... of course you did the right thing..."

"Y-Yeah..." Denki stammered. "Yeah, that's true..."

"W-Well, that's Tamaki's account," Tsuyu suddenly cut in. "But what about Nejire? Why did Tamaki drag her into this? Why did she lie earlier?" Her face was all concern as she turned to her friend and unofficial caretaker.

"O-Oh... umm..." Nejire spluttered.

"I involved her in my account because I _thought_ she'd go with it," Tamaki grumbled, unable to keep bitter irritability out of his voice.

"Ahh... waahh..." Nejire mumbled. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't listen to him, Nejire," Yaomomo soothed, a pang of sympathy striking her in the chest. _If only he'd drop it already._ "Just tell us why you lied earlier."

"Oh... well, since his death... I had been thinking that it might've been me kicking him in the gut that triggered the fit and killed him..." Guilt was alight in the girl's sorrowful expression. "Then the Monokuma File said he had a ruptured appendix... and then it was mentioned in the trial, and I kind of thought that maybe I was right, that I had killed Mirio. I guess it kinda just finally got me to break down, forced me to acknowledge something I was trying to avoid."

An awkward silence. Yaomomo wasn't sure how to fill it; despite the sympathy and sorrow overwhelming her heart, jitters were bubbling within her mind. _What if the villains get impatient and force us to cast votes..? Then what?_

"Come on, guys," Hitoshi spoke up. "Let's get a move on. You heard Monokuma before; they're getting fidgety. We have to hurry up, so let's set Tamaki and Nejire aside for now." There was a certain sort of distracted air to his words, as if his head weren't really in the investigation. _Don't tell me he's thinking about what Tamaki and Nejire said..._

"Considering how close we are to the answer, it shouldn't be too hard. Right, Miss Detective?" Shouto prompted, turning to Yaomomo. "You know who it is already, don't you? Nejire's rant should've given you enough information to figure it out."

She met his steady heterochronous eyes, his trusting, ever-so-trusting gaze. "If that's the case, I sure hope I'm right."

_I know I am._

_There's no other choice..._

_>Pick a person!<_

_..._

_>Mezou Shouji : It's got to be you...<_

"Mezou."

"What?" The Heavylifter's voice was cold.

"It's you. You're the killer," Yaomomo murmured, her voice dangerously soft. "You're our only option. The drinks were poisoned... you and Nejire were preparing the drinks, and we just ruled her out. You're the only one who could have done it."

Mezou only stared back at her with a blank expression before seeming to smirk under his mask. "Ha... you're so wrong it's hilarious. What if I made the drinks? What if this poison wasn't even the cause of Mirio's death? He had a stab wound and a ruptured appendix, or am I mistaken? What if one of those was the cause?"

Yaomomo racked her brain for evidence. _The stab wound... he just opened up a whole new door, huh?_

_But first and foremost, the appendix... it can't be, because-_

_>Select a Truth Bullet!<_

_..._

_>Monokuma File #7 : I can see it.<_

"The Monokuma File stated that the ruptured appendix was an "other wound", right?" the Detective recalled. "That must mean it wasn't the fatal wound. As for the stab wound, well... if he got stabbed and killed that way, Tamaki, Nejire, and Tsu would have a word or two to say about it. Except we ruled them out, and nobody was at the scene, so it's impossible."

"Wait... if that's the case, how _did_ the stab wound get there?" Hitoshi spoke up softly. "When would someone get the chance to stab him and place the knife?"

_When Mirio could have been stabbed... it could only have been..._

_>Select the Correct Option:_

_Before the Body Discovery Announcement_

_During Training_

_During the Blackout<_

_>During the Blackout : I got it.<_

"It must have been during the blackout," she mused. "But how?"

"Um, I heard someone enter the gym during the blackout," Tsuyu added. "If that helps, that's cool."

"That someone was likely our problem person here," Shouto commented. "And that would be..?"

_He's right... the person in the gym vandalizing the body, it's got to be..._

_>Select an Option:_

_The killer_

_Tamaki Amajiki_

_The mastermind<_

_>The killer : I got it.<_

"...the killer must have been in the gym messing with the body," Yaomomo deduced. "If you were good enough in the dark and found the body, any good number of stab wounds would have done the job quite nicely."

"Isn't just finding the body in the dark by chance a little odd?" Mezou retorted. "What if... the killer mapped it out in their head beforehand? What if... they were there... before the blackout occurred?"

A jolt went down Yaomomo's spine. It must have shown on her face, because Mezou laughed. "You've just realized, haven't you? The person more suspicious here... I'm sure you can see now."

_He's... got an awfully good point..._

_>Select a person!<_

_..._

_>Denki Kaminari : It's got to be you...<_

"Hey, Denki..." Yaomomo spoke out, her voice bleak. He jumped and turned, shaking, to face her. "Didn't you say earlier that you saw Mirio's body from outside the gym?"

"Ehh..?! H-Hey, wasn't that for Tamaki's alibi thing?!" Denki protested, despite the panic clearly melting over his expression.

"Well, that only makes it worse," the ravenette shot back. "Why _did_ you defend Tamaki?"

"I... I don't know! I was telling the truth!"

"So you're saying you really were at the gym and watched Mirio take his last breath?" Shouto inquired. Denki quickly nodded. "So... that makes you our prime suspect for stabbing Mirio's body. And only the killer would have the incentive to do such a thing."

"Wh... What..?" Denki's words were horrified; he was stunned. "H-Hey! I'm- I'm not the killer! I swear, I'm not the killer!"

"Protesting like that isn't going to help anyone," Hitoshi shot back coldly, much to Yaomomo's surprise. _I thought... they were allies?_

Denki visibly flinched. "Hitoshi..?"

"Why would you stab Mirio's body in the dark?" the violette continued. "Why would you, unless you were the killer?"

"Hey! That- That logic doesn't even make s-sense!" The Electrician was visibly growing panicked, hurt flashing across his expression at Hitoshi's confrontation. "I... the poison killed him, right? When- When would I get the chance to poison his drink?! Or food, for that matter?!"

"So why _did_ you stab the body? Nobody but the killer would do that!" Hitoshi snapped back. Denki flinched again, seemingly wishing he could crawl back into a shell and stay there until the trial was over.

_Hitoshi's wrong, he's got to be,_ Yaomomo thought desperately. _Come on... think..! Why can't Denki have stabbed the body? He's got to be innocent, he's got to be..._

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_>Question 1: Why can't Denki have stabbed the body?_   
_Left: Because he was with Yaomomo during the body discovery announcement_   
_Middle: Because he was in the cafeteria when the blackout occurred_   
_Right: Because he met up with Yaomomo shortly after the blackout occurred_   
_Right : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: Who else but the killer would stab the body?_   
_Left: Nobody else_   
_Middle: An accomplice_   
_Right: Tamaki Amajiki_   
_Middle : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: Did Denki really see Mirio as he was dying?_   
_Left: No_   
_Right: Yes_   
_Left : Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 4: Why did Denki lie about seeing the death?_   
_Left: Because he is an accomplice_   
_Middle: Because he wanted everyone to die_   
_Right: Because he wanted to protect the killer_   
_Left : Correct!<_

_>Success!_   
_Question 1: Because he met up with Yaomomo shortly after the blackout occurred_   
_Question 2: An accomplice_   
_Question 3: No_   
_Question 4: Because he is an accomplice<_

_>Break!<_

"Hold on, Hitoshi," Yaomomo cut into the dispute. Everyone turned to face her in surprise, unknowing of what input she could possibly contribute. "I think I figured it out."

"Oh, really?" Hitoshi scoffed. "Well, what have you figured out this time, Miss Ultimate Detective?" Sarcasm edged his voice.

"Well, first off, going to the body in the dark and stabbing it, before throwing away the knife, would take a minute or two, right?" Yaomomo began. "Well, about a minute after the blackout occurred, Denki found me in the cafeteria. He had been wandering down the hall calling out for someone. It's unlikely he could have been up at the gym, vandalized the body, _and_ come down to the cafeteria all in one minute."

"Umm... y-yeah! That's right..!" Denki stammered. "I met up with her after the blackout occurred!"

"I'm not done," she murmured. _So don't get so happy..._ "Secondly, I'd like to propose the idea of an accomplice."

"An... accomplice?" Nejire whimpered.

"Why does it matter?" Shouto inquired, more curious than anything.

"Well, think about it this way. Someone must have shut off the power from the main office, and immediately after that happened, someone entered the gym and vandalized the corpse," Yaomomo explained. "It's impossible to shut off the power from a distance, since the switch is in the office. And you can't get from the office up to the gym _that_ quickly. The only explanation is that there were two people involved."

"Interesting," Mezou mused slyly. "Any idea as to who this accomplice is?"

_Quit playing innocent._ Yaomomo put on a straight expression. "It's Denki."

"Wha-?!" Denki's wide-eyed expression betrayed panic. "What do you... mean? I would never..!"

"But it's the only way!" Yaomomo argued back. "Why else would you lie about seeing the body at all? It's like you were trying to push blame onto Tamaki, and take it off of yourself and your partner."

"Listen to her," Shouto commanded. "And confess. Why would you accomplice Mezou?"

"Hey! Since when did we determine I was the culprit?" the Heavylifter called out. Yaomomo ignored him.

"Umm... umm..." The electric blonde looked from side to side, as if debating what to say. "Umm... okay! I'll confess! I was the accomplice! I lied earlier about seeing the body..!"

"Anything else?" Hitoshi pushed.

"N-No!"

"I think that's all the information we need for now," Yaomomo interjected. "Remember, this conversation branched from determining Mezou as the killer. We should focus on that right now."

"Since when were you so sure I _am_ the killer?" The Heavylifter prompted. "You seem awfully certain of your little theory, Miss Detective. Are you really sure you're right? You might accidentally kill everyone if you're wrong, you know."

Yaomomo held his challenging stare. "If you think I'm wrong, how about you prove it so?"

Mezou seemed to grin under the mask. "Kehehe. Let us see, shall we? Give it all you've got, and it'll still never be enough!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Mezou's Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

"This is a pathetic argument." <> (W) (W) (W) (A)

"Me? The killer? Really?" <> (A) (A) (S)

"You cannot determine anything precise with these rough alibis." <> (S) (S) (D) (S) (S)

"Do you really trust the words of someone so emotionally unstable?" <> (D) (D) (S) (S) (D) (S) (W)

"Heck, are you sure the poison was even administered during food prep?" <> (A) (A) (W) (W) (A) (W) (S)

"What if someone poisoned the items beforehand, during the day?" <> (S) (S) (A) (A) (S) (A) (D)

"If that's the case, nobody is out of the question, including you." <> (W) (W) (D) (D) (W) (D) (S)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

"Quit being a tryhard already, Yaomomo." <> (W) (A) (S) (D) (W)

"You don't even have any direct evidence against me." <> (A) (S) (D) (W) (A)

"Even if I did poison the drink, does that mean it was a direct cause of death?" <> (S) (D) (W) (A) (A) (A) (S)

"Shouldn't Nejire's kick count as the trigger for Mirio's death?" <> (W) (A) (S) (D) (D) (D) (W)

"Shouldn't she be the blackened?" <> (W-A-S-D)

"Shouldn't we vote for her?" <> (W-A-S-D)

"Drop this petty argument already." <> (W) (W) (W) (S)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

"Come on, don't keep whining at me." <> (A) (A) (D) (D)

"Don't play the victim just because I'm better at debate than you." <> (S) (S) (S) (W) (S) (D) (S)

"You're truly twisted, Yaoyorozu." <> (W-A-S-D)

"What if you were the real killer?" <> (W) (A) (S)

"What if you poisoned the drink beforehand, just to kill some random person..." <> (D) (D) (D) (W) (A) (W) (S)

"...because you just wanted to get out of here?" <> (S) (S) (S) (W) (S)

"You don't really care about any of us, do you?" <> (D) (D) (D) (W) (W)

_>Final Blow!<_

_>W = Broken_   
_A = Poison_   
_S = Causes_   
_D = Bones <_

"How do you know the poison was the direct cause of Mirio's death?"

_"This is how."_

_>A-S-W-D : PoisonCausesBrokenBones : Break!<_

"At the very least, the poisons definitely caused the brittle bones and the ruptured appendix," Yaomomo began. "The ruptured appendix caused Mirio's fit, and the fit caused his bones to break and create internal bleeding. That amount of internal bleeding, judging by the purple patches all over the body, must have caused his death. It all ties back to the poisons, which were your doing, Mezou."

"Quit being petty already," Shouto scoffed. "You're the only one who could've poisoned the drinks. Nobody here is reckless enough to take a gamble and poison a random person. What if you accidentally got poisoned yourself? It's rather stupid, in all honesty."

"Don't call me stupid," Mezou snarled, obviously on edge from losing the fight he started. "I still have a good point, y-you know..."

_He's panicking._

"Sorry, Mezou." Tamaki's voice was as cold as ice, yet filled with fiery rage all in one confused mish-mash of feelings. "I guess you failed after all, huh? Killing the Ultimate Hope..." His voice shuddered, but he continued. "Denying Fumikage's last wishes... you're just a horrible person, hm? No matter what your logic and reasoning are, that'll never change."

"Well, isn't that hypocritical..." Mezou muttered, anger bubbling just under the surface of his skin, threatening to break through at any given moment.

"Come on, everyone," Yaomomo called out. "It's time for-"

_"BEEP!"_

A horrible, screeching alarm noise echoed throughout the room. Yaomomo yelped and brought her hands to her ears. She looked up to see Monokuma holding a large red button; it was glowing red, the light within spinning and blinding her.

"Time's up, ya doofs! I told ya we were getting impatient!" Behind the rodent, Chisaki was scratching at his face with a mechanical finger; Yaomomo could see that he was drawing blood, slowly but surely. He was either doing it on purpose or hadn't realized it yet; she didn't really care. "Vote already with your little levers and screens! I'm getting tired of your babbling, there's not enough action!" Monokuma declared.

Yaomomo turned to her panel. _Good. He forced us to vote right after we figured it out..._

_Mezou Shouji..._

As the last button was pressed and voting concluded, Monokuma leaped down from the throne and pulled the lever on the slots machine.

The faces spun and spun for a second, five seconds, ten, before they finally slowed-

-and all three ended on a certain Heavylifter.

_...was the killer._

_>Class Trial : End!<_

***

"Congratulations! You were all correct once more! The blackened was Mezou Shouji!" Monokuma cackled. "Looks like you're on a streak of five!"

Denki felt like he could barely breathe. He stared at his feet, fingers clasping and unclasping in front of his chest. He could feel cold sweat beading down the back of his neck.

_ <s>He remembered walking down the dimly lit hallway in the middle of the night- a bad idea, but he didn't really mind. He had been scampering by the laundry room, memories of Mashirao's death all too present in the front of his brain, when someone grabbed him by the collar.</s> _

"M-Mezou..." Tsuyu's voice was hushed. "Why..?"

"Why?" Mezou scoffed; even the simple motion made Denki wince. "Is that all you can say? Have I rendered the lot of you pathetic cretins speechless?"

"You killed someone..." Yaomomo murmured, her voice hushed. "I thought... Fumikage..."

He couldn't say anything to that. He fell silent and averted his eyes.

"Why don't you answer Tsu's question first?" Shouto inquired with a cold tongue. "Why did... why did you kill Mirio?"

The Heavylifter let out a long sigh, as if that would rid him of all the sins threatening to crash down on his shoulders, rid Denki of the turmoil in his head. "That filthy wretch, always positive and unfeeling... I thought you'd all understand. He had it coming for a long time. I merely rid us of a useless weight."

_ <s>Denki had tried to scream; panic was already setting into every bone of his body. Every nerve was on fire. A large hand cupped tightly over his mouth; he went limp in his captor's arms.</s> _

A cry of rage echoed throughout the trial room. In a flash of black and blue, Tamaki frantically leaped at Mezou; _ever a hero, always moving, all for the sake of justice._ Of course, he was too slow; Mezou batted him away with a powerful arm, sending him tumbling across the ground.

"H-Hey! Tamaki..!" Nejire ran forwards on shaky legs and grabbed him by the arms. Tears were streaming down the Florist's face, and his eyes flint-sharp with loathing- a terrible loathing directed with all of its power towards Mezou. "Please don't fight..."

One look at her pitiful expression, at her weeping face, and Tamaki allowed himself to go limp in her arms. She let go of him and sank to her knees on the carpeted floor; Tsuyu stood over her. Denki scratched at the back of his hand frantically, trying to ignore the memory flashing through his head.

_ <s>Denki had been hauled into a closet. The door clicked shut. He was trapped. Everything had become incredibly hot, incredibly claustrophobic. He couldn't breathe.</s> _

He can't breathe.

"Ahem. As I was saying..." Mezou glared at Tamaki, who shot him a look of sorrowful, fiery hatred. Another twist in Denki's stomach; seeing the two of them doing anything in tandem was horrifying. "I killed Mirio because of just how plainly insane he was. Hope? Positivity? Escaping together? He spouted bullshit at every turn with his rambling of friendship and love. There is no sunshine in this hell. There is only despair; that is what he failed to understand, and that is why I did him in."

"You... you MONSTER!" Tamaki broke free from Nejire's reach before she could even react. He darted at Mezou again, nimbly leaping and aiming the grab him around the neck. Of course, Mezou easily batted him off again, and he hit the ground. "I'll kill you before Monokuma can even touch a hair on your head, you fucking _bitch!"_

"Enough already," Mezou huffed. "It's all in the past. You can't do anything but move on."

_Was that... sympathy in his voice? No, it can't be... not after..._

_ <s>"Hey. Denki." Denki whimpered; tears were sliding down his face. He barely choked down a terrified sob. "Relax, relax. I'm not going to kill you, as long as you work with me here."</s> _

"Anyway, in the end, I still failed," Mezou continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "I never intended to poison him."

"Huh?" Tsuyu blinked. "But that doesn't make sense. If you wanted to kill him, you'd poison him, right? And he did die. You succeeded."

_ <s>The mysterious kidnapper in the dark instructed Denki of his plans. Stand in the main office, tell everyone you're investigating, and when a Body Discovery Announcement goes off -and it will, trust this guy- cut the power. Of course, Denki refused; he wanted nothing to do in this twisted game of murder. He had enough to deal with already; another nail in his brain would be too much.</s> _

"No." The masked boy paused. "No, to kill someone as obnoxiously positive as Mirio, it would be necessary to destroy his mind first."

_ <s>The figure had immediately pinned him to the wall. Something pressed against his face; a battle-hardened hand. A finger crept up his cheek, rested in the crook below his eye. "Go with it, unless you want to feel pain."</s> _

_ <s>"N-No... please... no..!"</s> _

"Which is why I poisoned Tamaki's drink."

A tense silence swept through the trial room at once. Denki, snapped out of his thoughts at once with this comment, turned to stare at Tamaki; it only took the Electrician a minute to figure out what the cruel Heavylifter was implying. Tamaki obviously thought the same thing, if his face was anything to go with.

"...eh?" His expression had gone blank; a shadow was cast over his visage. His eyes widened. "So you..."

"Precisely so. I meant to poison and murder you, Tamaki. Even if it cost me my death, I knew for sure that it would destroy Mirio from within," Mezou explained.

That sentiment threw Denki back into his downward spiral.

_ <s>A second, rough hand grabbed his face; it was wide enough to cover pretty much all of his features. Despite his struggling, the captor leaned forward, a muscular body pressed against him, trapping him against the wall. One hand's fingers parted his eyelids; Denki tried to shake his head, shake them away, but he was held tight in their grip.</s> _

_ <s>"Do you still want to refuse?"</s> _

_ <s>Some sort of ridiculous hero-thought flickered through Denki's mind; heroes always do what's good for everyone, right?</s> _

_ <s>"Y-Yes! I refuse! I don't want to help you kill someone!"</s> _

"And yet I failed," Mezou continued in present time. "I served to you your least favorite flavor, and you traded with Mirio. I was concerned at first, but decided it would work once he fell ill. I poisoned a few other drinks at random with a simple stomach bug, just to throw everyone off the scent for a few extra days."

_ <s>A finger hit his eye, and a searing agony burned through his face. A thumb pressed roughly against his lips, preventing him from screaming. The taller's index rubbed roughly against the side of Denki's sclera; something warm bubbled from his tear ducts. He wasn't sure if it was tears or blood or mucus; he didn't care, he just wanted to get out, get out of this closet, away from his attacker.</s> _

Denki shook his head, trying to shove the disturbance away. Surely trembling -but unnoticed-, he tried to focus on the matter at hand.

Tamaki was shaking, too. Tears overflowed once more, sliding down his face silently.

"T-Tamaki..!" Nejire leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind; an attempt at comfort. "I'm... I'm sorry..!"

"I killed Mirio, huh..?" Tamaki's voice was hollow. It was as if he were in a bubble, and everyone else -Nejire, Mezou, Tsuyu, Yaomomo, everyone- were mere voiceless ghosts. "If I hadn't handed him my drink... he'd be alive, right?"

"Tamaki... it's not your fault..." Yaomomo tried to say in a gesture of comfort, but Denki was pretty sure he didn't hear her. The room fell into an awkward silence and watched as he wept silently, Nejire clinging to his back, Tsuyu crouched next to them and unsure of what to do.

"Even after killing our Ultimate Hope... you really don't know where to stop, do you?" Shouto growled; Denki nearly jumped at his harsh tone. "Manipulating Denki, ruining Tamaki and Nejire, poisoning Fumikage's legacy... you really are just a horrid person, huh?"

_Shouto, I'm thankful, really, but I don't deserve your sympathy._

"Being better at surviving doesn't automatically make me a bad person," Mezou huffed. "This is a death game. You have to do whatever you can to survive; play the game to live. Isn't Yaomomo doing the exact same thing? Pushing onwards, playing the game, even if half of the students have given up and desire to stop?"

Tears welled in Denki's eyes. He wasn't sure why.

"Even if you have logic, even if it's for the sake of the game..." Yaomomo's voice shuddered, but she pushed on, defending her friends, _because she's a real hero, one who protects people, does what's good for everyone else._ "None of it makes you a better person, Mezou! You hurt those around you, you betray those who died before you- tell me, does that make you a good person? Does ruining those who surround you make you a good _fucking_ person?!"

"Facts don't care for feelings, Yaoyorozu."

"You're dodging my question."

"And you're dodging mine. All is fair."

"What would Fumikage say if he were still here?" Tsuyu suddenly cut in. Both Yaomomo and Mezou's heads snapped around at the mention of the ex-Assassin; a heavy silence filled the room. The viridian-haired girl continued, her voice hollow and desolate. Desperate for an explanation. "He told you to keep living, right, Mezou? And he was fine with Yaomomo taking the role of case-solver, the detective. Don't you want to honor his legacy?"

The Heavylifter had been sufficiently shut up with that point. He fell silent, eyes going to the floor. Yaomomo huffed. "What, the moment there's a good point against you, you clam up?"

"I..." Mezou's voice broke, and he hushed again. Denki was surprised. _How did she stop him?_

_ <s>"P-pleash shtop!" he'd cried, his words mashed against Mezou's thumb.</s> _

_ <s>"Say you'll comply with me, and I'll stop!" he'd growled.</s> _

"Come on, speak," Hitoshi snapped. "Why did you go back on Fumikage's last wi-"

"I don't want to die."

_ <s>"I-I'm sorry!" At that, Mezou had pulled back the thumb on his lips; his hand shifted to his shoulder, and Denki flinched at the contact; the rough finger that remained in his eye socket rubbed, and the burning continued. Saliva slid down Denki's chin, but he didn't bother to care. Sobs escaped his throat; his lungs were screaming for air, his heart racing in his ribcage. "I don't want to die, so please stop! I'll do anything you want, just please... let go of me..!"</s> _

Denki was shaking, but he was invisible, invisible to the trial room.

"Say again?" the Psychic lowered his voice.

"I don't want to die," the convicted repeated. "I want to escape. I want to get out of here... and share Fumikage's legacy." He looked up to meet the class' judgement stares, and Denki immediately moved his blurring line of vision to the carpet. His ears were ringing. Tears burned in his eyes, and it obviously didn't hurt as much as Mezou's finger, but it _burned_ and he _hated_ it. "But I failed. And now..."

A heavy pause. The blonde was trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry, Denki."

He jumped, looked up, met Mezou's eyes, and immediately regretted it.

There were tears edging his dark, flinty gaze. Denki hated it; Mezou was the villain, the _real_ villain of this class, and he didn't _deserve_ to feel bad, didn't deserve to play the victim after every _fucking thing he had done, what he did to Tamaki, to Kyouka, to Fumikage, to Denki._

"I'm sorry for using you in my plan."

Denki was silent. He hated this. Blinking away tears, tears that slipped down his face as twin crystals, he turned away and darted to Hitoshi's side. The violette took one look at him and allowed him to sidle behind him. The Psychic offered Denki his hand, and he took it with his own shaky fingers. A squeeze of his palms, and it felt like old times again, when Mashirao was still alive and the three of them would comfort each other at night when they had nightmares.

Denki watched hazily over Hitoshi's shoulder. Mezou had ignored his rejection and had turned to scan over the rest of the class. "Yaomomo, Tsu, Nejire... I'm sorry you had to go through with this mess. I'm sorry you're all still trapped in this cage while I get to depart."

"Depart..?" Nejire's voice was haunted.

If Denki could see his mouth, he was sure Mezou'd be smiling. _Smiling despite the filthy, sinful tears sliding down his face, tracking down his wretched mask._ "Even hell is better than these ruins... right, Tamaki?"

Tamaki jumped, snapped at once out of his stupor. "Don't... don't use my words..."

Denki flinched; Hitoshi's grip tightened. Tamaki's voice was small; meek. Defeated. Finally broken. He had fallen at last, like a bird whose ragged, bloody wings had finally given out, a bird who had hit the ground hard and lay awaiting his demise. Nejire placed a hand on his shoulder; he ignored her.

It was the same tone Tamaki used when he grabbed Denki by the arm as he tried to leave the gym before the trial, the same tone he used as he requested him for some assistance in his plans, asked to borrow Denki for yet another selfish plot, borrow his body, his voice, his mind; a plot to which the Electrician gave dubious consent to in his hustle to run away.

"Don't use my words, you murderer. You fucking wretch... you've ruined everything! I hope you suffer forever- I wish I could drive a knife into your gut myself... I HATE YOU!" Something had come unhinged, and Tamaki screamed at Mezou, his eyes alight with grief, tears sliding down his face in torrents. "Don't come near me! I hope you rot alone!"

Another pang in his chest, and Denki felt tears wash over his sight again; seeing someone else break only reminded him of himself. _Or is it because seeing another villain break pisses you off?_

Mezou kept his distance; he merely gazed upon Tamaki, upon Nejire holding her friend back from throwing himself at him. The taller merely closes his eyes, plaintive and quiet. "I'm sorry, Tamaki."

"Go away!" the Florist spat.

"Sure." Mezou turned away from him to face Yaomomo instead. "Miss Detective, huh? I guess you were our Fumikage replacement."

"Sure, if you want to see it that way," the ravenette shrugged; unshowing of emotion. "I just... took up the job, I guess. Someone had to do it if we wanted to live another day, and Fumikage died."

"Maybe that's why I resented you after Fumikage's trial," Mezou admitted, his voice growing soft. _Almost kind. Almost like the old Mezou, the Mezou who was my friend, who was a hero-in-training._ "Because you took his place. In the end, I was just petty, hm?'

"Ahem ahem!" Denki jumped, as did Hitoshi. His hand went clammy; he hoped Hitoshi didn't mind if he was excessively sweaty. Monokuma had sliced into the damper atmosphere like a katana slicing a block in half. "I'm sorry to cut into this, but the execution is coming up real soon! Any last words, any last regrets, you might want to say them now!"

Mezou sighed. Perhaps there was a smile under his mask. Silent tears ran down his face. "I should've seen this coming."

"M-Mezou..." Tsuyu's voice was small as she spoke up; she seemed to waver. She paused, as if thinking, a finger to her chin. "I think... you're actually a good person. One with a poor ability to handle trauma. Something like that. Like, Denki cuts, I talk to Ochako, and you kill."

A jolt went through Denki's entire body, and suddenly he couldn't breathe all over again. _How does_ she _know? She knows, she knows, now everyone knows, and they'll call me weak, call me pathetic, they'll kill me, they'll kill me..!_

Hitoshi turned to him, but Denki didn't look up; he stared at the floor, wished he could stop crying and being pathetic. The bandages wrapped around his wrists were too tight, too snug, the dried blood underneath soggy and uncomfortable. He wished to rip them off, but he couldn't, he _couldn't,_ because what's worse? Bandages or a barrage of bloody cuts?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mezou inquired; it appeared nobody else had taken Tsuyu's words too seriously. The Heavylifter's voice made him flinch; he was fully prepared for his icy tone to cut through the air, send cold sweat running down his spine all over again, but instead, all he got was a warm, gentle murmur; he wasn't sure which would've hurt more.

Tsuyu silently got up and began to shuffle towards Mezou. He watched her with curious eyes. She looked up to meet them with her own hazy, green gaze when she was only a foot away from him. "I think you're a good person," she explained with a sweet smile on her face. "One who was misguided, sure, but a good person."

With that note, she leaned forward to wrap her arms around Mezou's midriff, her face buried in his chest. "It's okay. I think Fumikage would agree, right?"

The Heavylifter appeared awkward in the sudden embrace. "Erm..." An expression of guilt melted across his face.

_Traitor. Fucking traitor._

_Wasn't Fumikage's last wish for Mezou to live, unlike him? To trust us, love his classmates, as he did before?_

_Isn't that the exact opposite of what he did, what he's done?_

"Haha! So touching!" Monokuma grinned. "So despairful! Now, without further ado, it's time to conclude this little dump of confessions!"

Mezou seemed to relax in Tsuyu's loose grip as the bear announced his death. He moved one hand to place it on her back; her gesture had not been unreciprocated. The other hand moved upwards, towards his mouth.

"I've prepared a very special punishment for Mezou Shouji, the Ultimate Heavylifter!"

Mezou paused, his finger hovering, before hooking his index on the top of the cyan mask hiding his lower face.

"Are you all ready..?!"

He pulled down the garment, revealing a scarred nose and a thin, crooked mouth; a small smile tugged at its edges.

"Iiiiiiit's..."

"I'm sorry, Fumikage."

"PUNISHMENT TIME!"

_His teeth are sharp, like Eijirou's._

Mezou's grip tightened on Tsuyu's fragile figure, holding her to his broad chest. She seemed to enjoy the touch, despite the tears sliding down her face.

"Everyone, please... get out of here and become heroes." Mezou offered a shaky chuckle. "Become who I couldn't."

_I hate you so much._

_>GAME OVER_

_Mezou Shouji has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!<_

Mezou was standing in the center of a large arena. Colosseum-like walls encircled him, effectively trapping him in a seemingly-tiny circle. The earth was a dusty, dry brown; overhead, a domed hologram of the sky flickered cerulean. Wispy white clouds glided across the vast expanse.

Mezou was on edge, feet spread in a battle stance. He flexed his bicep muscles, warming himself up for whatever disaster was about to be thrown his way. His dark navy eyes darted back and forth, warily watching the environment, as if something were about to leap out of the ground.

Then the earth began to shake.

_>Mezou Shouji's Execution: Heartbreak of Pangaea : Executed!<_

A rather violent crashing noise came from one side of the arena.

Mezou started, whirling around to see a massive chunk of the ground behind him splitting apart. Chunks of stone went flying as the rocky area split off, sliding up and away by a few inches. The wall on that side shook; part of it crumbled and fell out of the enclosed space.

More screeches of rock breaking exploded from all around the arena. Mezou leaped onto a separate plate as the earth split directly below his feet. The plate he crouched on began to sink, slowly but surely; Mezou stayed on it for a moment before running to a different one, one that was rising.

The plates were starting to move faster and faster at this point. Mezou rushed from one rock to the next; the more Denki watched with bated breath, the more he noticed.

Mezou was leaping to only the rocks that rose; he avoided the ones that fell and slid below each other. As he watched, Denki could noticeably see him getting higher and higher in the arena, centimeter by centimeter. He was trying to get out; trying to live, despite all of the sins he hauled about on his shoulders, hid in his pockets, away from the world; unforgiving. Untrustworthy.

_I hate you, I hate you so much._

_I hate you enough that I'd kill you._

He was getting higher, leaping swiftly and nimbly, _effortlessly,_ from plate to shattered earthy plate. A rush of terror flew through Denki's body; nervous sweat dampened his palms. He still hadn't let go of Hitoshi; the violette being annoyed with him about it was the last thing on his mind.

_He's going to come back. We can't get rid of him._

_Why can't I get rid of him?_

_Why can't he get out of my fucking head?_

Mezou was still going, and he was barely breaking a sweat. He was pretty much at the edge of the top of the arena at this point; he leaped for a section of wall, one powerful hand hitting the rock and pulling him up single-handedly. A jolt struck Denki in the chest.

But as he crouched and bounded off of the crumbling wall, he flew out not even a foot before he hit an invisible barrier and bounced backwards, tumbling over the wall and falling ungracefully onto a conveniently rising chunk of earth. _A glass wall._ The holographic sky was confined within a dome, blue and white projected upon the solid walls. As he hit it, the image flickered and pulsed; beyond the glass dome was mere darkness; presumably an execution room underground somewhere.

Mezou glared up at the dome; he was clearly unnerved by his newest discovery. He clenched his hands into fists and stood up, defiance clear in his expression.

But as he rose, a swiftly rising rumble below his feet snagged his attention.

He looked down just as a criss-crossing of cracks erupted in the earth beneath him.

A particularly large ravine suddenly pulled the ground apart as easy as snapping ice. _Pulled the ground apart right under Mezou's feet._ He had jumped the moment the earth broke, but as he flailed to grab the newly formed cliff's edge, Denki could see the despair in his eyes.

_Despair._

_How beautiful._

The giddy feeling in his stomach made him feel sick as he watched Mezou begin to fall, hand outstretched for the cliff as he swiftly plummeted to his impending doom at the bottom of the ravine.

Before he fully vanished from sight, the two plates suddenly slammed back together.

He was buried alive, crushed by the force of nature itself, of the very earth he was born and raised upon. It was such a fitting end. Denki couldn't help but heave a silent sigh of relief, his hand squeezing Hitoshi's before finally letting go.

_He's gone._

A flash of red; Denki felt chills seize his entire body once more as the sensation of fingers against his face, a leg against his, the wall on his back, the voice, _the voice,_ hushed and vengeful and cold and unforgiving, the voice that snaked into his ear like a centipede, brushed every last one of his innards, licked him until he was at his captor's mercy.

_Leave me alone, please..._

_Get out of my head._

_Why won't he get out of my head?_

_Get out of my head, out of my head, out of my head, getoutofmyheadoutofmyheadoutofmyhead-_

"Denki?" Hitoshi's soft, violet voice crept into his senses. The blonde jumped, startled, as this single name pierced the chaotic scribble of charcoal black in his head. He hadn't realized he was shaking, or that tears were sliding down his face, until Hitoshi spoke again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm okay..." Denki hiccuped quietly and tried to control his shuddering. He wiped away the tears on his face, only for new ones to replace them immediately. At the very least, nobody was paying him any attention; everyone was still staring at the screen displaying the ever-shifting execution arena as it ground up the remains of Mezou's body. _Why am I so weak? Why can't I control myself, control my own body, my mind?_

_I hate this. I hate this all so, so much._

_It's all their fault... all _their _fault..._

_Please... leave me alone..._

_I don't want to do this anymore..._

_>Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair : The End | Surviving Students : 8 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item Obtained: Mezou's Mask<_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: denki's vision isn't particularly affected by the episode. his left side is a bit blurry, but it doesn't hurt enough that it's a massive concern; it's like a dull ache that's always in the background, but if you get distracted you forget about it.


	44. Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 1 - Daily Life

Of all the ways one could be awoken in a Killing Game, a disturbingly vague note in the middle of the cafeteria was actually pretty okay for Nejire.

Well, it was okay until Tamaki showed up. He’d been the last of her classmates to emerge from their rooms when Yaomomo called them. It was to be expected, of course; Mirio’s death had hit everyone pretty hard, but Tamaki was suffering the loss of his lover.

That had to hurt.

Nejire had never known true love before. She didn’t know what it felt like; from what she’d read in those teenage romance novels, it was warm and sweet. Comforting on the darkest night.

She wished she had love in this place.

Actually, no, she didn’t want that. That’d only give her more to lose.

_As if she didn’t have enough to fail already. She had enough people to let down over and over, enough people to kill in the end._

Nejire “loved” her classmates, her friends, the heroes. She wished the best for them, cared for them, wanted them to be happy, wanted to be happy with them.

Despite that, nobody could possibly be happy in this wreck.

Nobody but those who had true love, who had a piece of hope, however small, to hold onto; a beacon to reach for, run for, fight for, cry for, _die for._

When Mirio died, the last of that perished with him, plummeted to hell with him.

There was no love left in this place.

“H-Hey, Tamaki.” Nejire offered her best attempt at a greeting as the dark-haired boy shuffled into the room. “How are… you..?”

“Mmh.” Tamaki grumbled something incoherent and trudged over to the table where everyone was gathered. It was as if bricks were in his shoes. Tsuyu, who’d gone to get him, slipped into the room after him, silent as a ghost. 

_Maybe she is a ghost. I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly._

“Everyone’s here, huh..?” Yaomomo murmured, silver eyes sweeping the ragged assembled. The unspoken words that hung on her tongue dangled over Nejire’s head.

_There’s so few of us left…_

“Let’s read this thing.” The Detective shook it off and reached for the little folded piece of paper with slender, pale fingers. She’d awoken earlier to find it lying suspiciously in the middle of the cafeteria table, just waiting to be found. Ever the thoughtful person, she called everyone down to open it together.

She unfolded the note. Nejire leaned in closer, cheek brushing against her bony shoulder. The handwriting was a mess; the ink was smudged and letters shaky. Tears appeared to blotch some of the words, but it was disturbingly readable.

“‘Mei’s device. SoS. Escape route.’” Yaomomo read the short message’s contents swiftly. “What do you guys think it means?”

“Mei’s device is clear. It has something to do with that girl’s machine’s purpose,” Shouto decided. “SoS means communicating with the outside world and requesting help. Remember when Mei was still alive, and was confident that that failed rescue operation had been her device’s doing?”

“Yeah,” Denki murmured. “Y-Yeah, that’s gotta be it! The device communicates with the heroes and asks for help. Th-That’s the only logical connection between her device and SoS..!”

Shouto offered the boy a rare shadow of a smile. “You’re right. Escape route makes sense, now. Using the device and sending out cries for help is our best bet of escape at this point.”

“B-but… why do the heroes need intel?” Tsuyu inquired softly.

“Because without intel… they’re fighting without leads,” Nejire deduced gently. “They don’t know which villains are present, which heroes to have help them fight, which new faces have appeared and what new quirks have shown up… It’s incredibly inefficient… I guess.”

“If that’s the case, we better get that device,” Hitoshi suggested.

“Wasn’t it destroyed, though..?” Tsuyu piped up again.

“If it was destroyed, why would we receive this note?” Shouto argued. “And… more importantly… who wrote the note?”

“He has a good point,” Yaomomo murmured. 

“Hey, hey…” Nejire easily snagged everyone’s attention. “As for who wrote the note, would it too hopeful to think that we have an ally on the villain team?”

“I’m sorry to say that that’s unlikely,” Tamaki suddenly cut in. “If we had a secret ally, they should’ve spoken up by now. Seventeen have died already.”

“B-But…” Nejire faltered and was swiftly interrupted.

“Shut up. Even if there was someone from our side in the League, they’re useless if they haven’t jumped in already to try and stop all the killings,” the Florist hissed. “I’m leaving. This is pointless.”

And then he was gone, dragging himself out of the cafeteria on heavy feet.

The pit in Nejire’s stomach opened up again; tears sprung to her eyes as she felt her gut twist.

_Worthless. Useless. Pathetic. Look at what you’ve done to him. Look at what he’s become. You’re supposed to protect him, right? That’s what Mirio told you. So why aren’t you moving? Why are you standing still? Move! Move to him. Follow him. Go help him in his time of need, you useless piece of shit excuse for an ex-hero,_ her mind wailed at her. Her ears rang; she didn’t realize liquid was trailing down her face until Tsuyu tugged on her hand.

“Nejire. Why are you crying?” she murmured. The others were locked in a conversation about the author of the note; they ignored her.

“I’m… I’m okay. It’s fine. Don’t worry about me,” Nejire said, fighting to keep her voice from hitching as she swiped the back of her hand across her cerulean eyes. “Come on, let’s listen to what the others are saying.”

“...probably Mei’s friend, I’d suppose,” Hitoshi was saying as Nejire struggled to tune her attention back in on the matter at hand.

“But who would that be? Out of the group of us, Mei had only ever communicated with Tooru. And, well… Tooru’s dead,” Yaomomo shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense. Who would know what Mei’s device did? She never told anyone… except Tooru.”

“Umm… Umm…” Tsuyu seemed like she desperately wanted to be of use and contribute to the conversation but was drawing a blank. “Oh! I know!”

“W-Well? What is it?” Denki inquired softly.

“Remember when Mei’s machine was broken? Back when Izuku and Eijirou were still alive?” Tsuyu prompted. From next to her, Nejire noticed Shouto flinch. “Whoever broke it must’ve known the use!”

“But wouldn’t it make the most sense to say Tooru broke it?” Yaomomo refuted. “She was the traitor. She didn’t want us to escape.”

“Then who wrote this note?” Shouto interjected. “Tooru’s not dumb. She would send someone in her stead to do her dirty work. That way, if they were caught, Tooru would not be held accountable. Nobody would listen to the account of someone caught in the act over a “scared” girl.”

Silence fell over the room. “A-And… if the note just appeared, and was written by this person…” Denki whispered in a hushed tone. “Then that means… th-they’re still alive here?”

“Yeah.” Yaomomo offered him the traces of a smile. “Maybe we really do have some sliver of hope left.”

“Then we have to find the device,” Hitoshi stated. _Is that the light of hope, of wishing, in his eyes?_ “Tooru… Tooru must’ve hid the thing somewhere.”

“Let’s go investigate, then,” Shouto decided. “Yaomomo, Denki, and Hitoshi will take the ground, first, second, and third floors. Nejire, Tsu, and I can take the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors.”

Upon taking instructions, the assigned groups dispersed. Shouto led the way upstairs; Nejire kept to his side while Tsuyu trailed along behind her, one slender, pale hand captured in Nejire’s own cold fingers.

“Hey, Shouto…” The boy of bi-colored hair glanced over his shoulder, slowing his pace to match Nejire’s weak gait. “What sorta places do you think Tooru would hide this… device in..?”

“Mmh.” Shouto seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. “If I were her… I’d go either somewhere so obvious we wouldn’t bother to check it or somewhere so random and obsolete that nobody would care to search that far. Meaning we should check everywhere. Don’t leave any idea out, no matter how weird you may believe it is.”

“Hm.” _Not the most useful answer. But I guess the point is we have to search every nook and cranny, no exceptions._

_An obvious place, hm..?_

“What if she put it near one of the bodies?” Tsuyu suggested. “Just to tease us.”

“Perhaps that would be true,” Shouto mused. “Come on. Let’s head to the laundry room first.”

Nejire and her company dug through the room in about fifteen minutes. There was no sign of anything vaguely resembling an SoS device. Even the camera was gone, no matter how closely Tsuyu inspected those wall tiles.

“Looks like the laundry room reveals nothing,” Shouto concluded. “I think the next most logical place would be Mei’s lab itself.”

“Ah… that sounds about right,” Nejire murmured as they began to walk. “The device must’ve been in Mei’s lab, and Tooru must’ve taken it to hide it after Mei… died. It’s likely that Tooru was in such a hurry after that that she just hid it in the lab.”

“I agree with her,” Tsuyu added helpfully.

_Well, you always do._

_I’m not sure why, exactly…_

The trio reached the lab and began to scan through the room again. Nejire was in the middle of digging through some boxes _-didn’t a group of three people literally do this exact task during investigation?-_ when Shouto let out a gasp.

“Guys! Look! I think I found something!” the Theorist exclaimed, delight creeping into his words.

Nejire looked up to see the taller male standing on a few boxes on top of Mei’s table, his head stuck into the ceiling through the hole of a displaced tile. “Umm… what are you doing up there?”

“Well, I figured she hadn’t hidden it somewhere we’d already investigated,” he reasoned while obviously straining to reach for something, his entire upper body completely above the room as he strained on his tiptoes. “We’d already investigated the room itself, so thinking out of the box was our best bet.”

“Ah. Huh.” Tsuyu’s voice was slightly annoyed; Nejire could guess why. _Why would he have us searching down here for no reason?_

“I think… I think I got it!” Shouto seemed to have gotten leverage on some item hidden in the ceiling. He was wriggling back out of the hole; first came his head, then his shoulders, his arms, and finally his hands.

There was a dusty -but whole- device in his hands. _Mei’s device. The SoS device._

“I’ve found it,” Shouto murmured, as if awed by his own discovery. “It’s… really unbroken, hm?”

_Oh, how useless I was… maybe next time, I’ll try a little harder and come up with something helpful._

_Better luck next time, I guess…_

“Tsu and I’ll get the others,” the bluette offered to save herself from any embarrassment, in case Shouto decided to call out on her and her friend’s failures. “C-Come on, Tsu.”

The two of them trekked downstairs hand-in-hand. They swiftly ran into Hitoshi and Denki and invited them upstairs before heading further onwards to Yaomomo. The ragged group of six soon found themselves huddled around the lab table, staring at the device.

“Well, one of us is missing,” Tsuyu mumbled.

“Mmh?” Denki blinked before he seemed to remember. “Ah! W-We should get… Tamaki…”

“He’s in his room right now, though,” Yaomomo murmured. “Do we really want to bother him?”

“This is important news,” Shouto insisted. “Come on, everyone has to be present. This could be our key to escape. Tamaki is our classmate and should be present.” He turned to Nejire. “I hate to ask you of another favor, but could you possibly run up and grab him? You’re the one closest to him.”

A stab wound to her heart.

_Closest to him, huh..?_ Nejire thought bitterly to herself. _In the end, you still ruined his plan._

_Why do you ruin everything, Nejire? Why are you so fucking useless?_

_First Ochako… then Mina… then Mirio and Tamaki._

_Everyone hates you._

_There’s no reason they shouldn’t._

“Uhh… sure!” The reply came out louder than she’d intended, a little too forced. “I’ll just… run up and grab him… give me a minute!”

With that she was out the door, hurrying along with her heartbeat rising with every passing second. _I don’t even know why. It’s just Tamaki, right? I’ve known him for three years… three years… it’s okay, you’re his friend._

_Right?_

_Why do I feel so nervous?_

_Why do I dread this encounter?_

She found herself standing before Tamaki’s door, his name carved into the enamel plate in front of her face. Her hand was clasped to her chest; she could feel the jackrabbit ramming against her ribcage at full force. Her legs were fueled with twitchy, nervous energy. She shuffled her feet back and forth, wondering how this confrontation would go.

_Okay. He’ll answer the door, and either stay silent or ask me why I’m here, right? No matter what, I just have to give him some optimistic greeting- don’t ask ‘how are you’, because the answer is obvious- and then I have to say I’m here to summon him to Mei’s lab because we investigated and found something. I can do this. I can’t do this. I can._

_Can I?_

She blinked and softly exhaled, clearing her hectic mind of all the cluttering thoughts. _Calm down, Nejire,_ she soothed herself. Her heart only beat faster as she reached out to knock. _Calm… down…_

Three knocks. The first one confident, the second a little softer as she thought the first was too violent, and the third uncertain.

She could hear shuffling inside. She stepped back, fingers frantically twirling pale blue tresses.

Tamaki opened the door a crack. She could see his narrowed, violet eye gleaming in the light of the lobby. Behind him, his room was dim. “Nejire.” His voice was monotonous yet strained all the same. “What do you want? I thought you of all people would know to leave me alone.”

“Uh, um, well, we investigated for a while and found something interesting, so they had me come down to grab you,” Nejire began to explain, stumbling over her words. “Um, it’s Mei’s device, it’s supposed to send out SoS messages, an-”

“Well then, tell them I’m not coming.”

“Huh? W-Wait-!” Nejire reached out and grabbed the doorknob, yanking it towards her -the doors opened outwards- and forcing Tamaki to stay by the vestibule. “P-please… Tamaki, come on, just do this for us… do it for me, please..?”

Tamaki stared at her with a blank gaze. “Do it for _you?_ Are you kidding me? After… everything… I don’t even want to see your face..!”

Nejire winced and jumped back a centimeter as she noticed the tears slipping down her friend _-friend?-_’s face. “I- I’m sorry…” she managed to whimper. His words had been a lance to her chest; her throat constricted and she could feel her lip beginning to quiver. She swiftly wiped away the tears in her own eyes. “I’m so… s-sorry…”

“...” Tamaki silently closed the door in her face, Nejire’s hand now hovering uselessly in front of her with a grasp on nothing. She couldn’t help but sink to her knees and cry into her arms as her mind toiled over Tamaki’s words.

_“After everything… I don’t even want to see your face..!”_

There go the tears.

“I… a-always feared this… d-didn’t I?” she murmured in a whisper of a breeze. Her breath hitched. “S-So now… that it’s actually happening… wh-why do I still feel..?”

_Why do I still feel so hurt?_

_I’m just pathetic. Useless. Absolutely useless._

***

“What is taking her so long?” Hitoshi murmured.

“Maybe… something went wrong…” Tsuyu’s voice shuddered. “We should go check on her right now!”

“I’ll go,” Yaomomo immediately jumped to offer. She herself was also a little worried about Nejire; the girl wasn’t all that emotionally stable, and sending her off alone to _Tamaki_ of all people may have been a poor choice.

“No, you stay,” Shouto retorted. “Start the device up without us; we can’t keep waiting. Monokuma might try to stop us,” he reasoned. “Besides, if something bad happened, we can’t risk you getting hurt. You’re our detective, right?”

A pause. Yaomomo could feel heat brush her ears; Shouto took her silence and turned away, swiftly striding out the door and quickening his pace as he hit the hallway.

“Hey! Don’t go without meeee!” In a flash of green, Tsuyu was suddenly racing out of the room after the Theorist. Hitoshi made a move to grab her but she squirmed away, leaving the rest to only wonder how Shouto would deal with her.

“Umm… Sh-Shouto said to start without him, right?” Denki piped up, snagging Yaomomo’s attention to the matter at hand immediately. “Let’s… try to boot it up.”

“Mmh.” Yaomomo reached out and turned the boxy contraption around. Finding a green button with a power button, she pressed it, only for absolutely nothing to happen. The other two Ultimates stared at it, appearing just as confused as her at the inactivity.

“Wait… look here.” Hitoshi leaned over the table and pointed at something on the back of the cube. Yaomomo flipped it over to see a plastic plate, one held down with screws. It was a battery compartment. “Reckon it’s out of battery?”

“Maybe. Denki, find me a screwdriver,” Yaomomo requested. “Please.”

The electric blonde swiftly darted to the other side of the room where a set of tools were hanging from a rack on the wall. He snatched a small screwdriver and handed it off to the Detective, who uttered a polite thanks. She made quick work of the two silver screws and pried off the plastic cover to see that the battery compartment was indeed empty.

“Let’s try to find the batteries,” Yaomomo said, already walking away from the table. “There’s got to be something in here.”

“B-but… do SS batteries even e-exist?” Denki cut in. Yaomomo turned to see what he was talking about. “Uh, look here. It says SS b-battery.”

Yaomomo returned to the device to see that Denki was correct. “An SS battery, huh..?”

An idea suddenly popped into her head, as if the metaphorical lightbulb in her brain had gone off. “Ah… wait here, you two. I just thought of something.”

Without further ado, the girl ran out of the room and upstairs, making a beeline for her own room. She’d heard crying on the fifth floor, coming from near Tamaki’s room, but made nothing of it. He probably yelled at Nejire, or something. If it were more serious, Shouto would’ve ran to grab everyone.

Yaomomo snatched something from her desk before racing to return to Mei’s lab. Denki and Hitoshi watched curiously as she placed the Ziploc bag down on the table and reached in to remove its contents.

“Two… batteries?” Denki murmured. “Wh-Where..?”

“I pocketed them during investigation of Mei’s body.” Yaomomo spoke as she easily slipped the orange batteries into the compartments before pressing the green button again. This time, the LED screen on the front lit up, brought back to life with Mei’s custom batteries. “Ah. Bingo.”

“It… worked.” Hitoshi stared at the glowing device as Yaomomo quickly screwed the battery cover back on. “The device really works, huh..?”

“No guarantee until we try it,” Yaomomo replied dully. “Come on. Let’s try this out.”

The device vaguely resembled a handheld video game console. _Maybe Mei was into that kind of stuff when she was younger. I can’t imagine our classmate doing anything in her spare time out of the lab._ There were a few buttons on the right-hand side of the surface- X and Y buttons, a small joystick, and an enter button were all painted in various colors. Meanwhile, on the screen, two options appeared.

_‘Inbox’ and ‘Send Message’, huh?_ Yaomomo decided to test her luck and go to the _Inbox._ There was nothing in there.

“I-I’d guess... the inbox displays any messages the outside world sends us,” Denki murmured.

“That sounds about right.” Yaomomo toggled the joystick to the back arrow onscreen and returned to the menu. She went to _Send Message_ instead. This opened up yet another set of two options.

_“‘View sent messages’..._ and _‘Send new message,’_ hm?” Hitoshi mused. “Check the old sent messages first.”

Yaomomo hopped into that menu to find one message sent. It was labeled with a date several weeks back. She clicked into it to find a simple message pop up onscreen.

“‘Fourteen left. Despair sickness motive. Act fast. SoS. No intel on villain ranks.’” Yaomomo read the message aloud. “She must’ve sent this before Eijirou and Izuku died. The successful rescue operation happened after they died.”

“So much on being fast,” Hitoshi grumbled. “But that’s progress. We know it was received by the heroes.”

“So we send another one. A new update.” Yaomomo backed out of the sent messages column and went to send a new one. An onscreen keyboard popped up. “Ah. This is like the old 3DS I used to play on…”

“Y-You used to play video games?” Denki commented, perking up a little. “I never would’ve imagined… n-not in a bad way, I just mean-” He appeared flustered as Yaomomo turned to him with a blank, gray stare. Hitoshi eyed him with amusement. “You were such a good student, I can’t fathom it.”

“It’s fine. But yeah, I used to play video games in junior high. I wasn’t the best at the mechanics, but strategy games were right up my alley,” Yaomomo explained, turning back to the device. She began slowly typing out a message, muttering it aloud as she went.

“Seven… left. How is Yuga?” She paused. “Mei is... dead. Tooru was traitor from League but was executed anyway.” As she tried to continue, she realized the message had hit the maximum character count. She hit send; after a few seconds, a new message popped up. “Message sent.”

Excited by the successful sending of the first, Yaomomo opened up a new message to type. “I am Yaoyorozu. Denki, Hitoshi, Nejire, Tsu, Tamaki, and Shouto are alive.” Sent off again. New message. “Uhh… how many villains are there?” she asked her friends, fingers hovering over the buttons.

"Umm... B-Based on the trials... there's Shigaraki, Kurogiri, T-Toga, Dabi, Spinner, and Twice. And Overhaul," Denki murmured. "C-Compress too, probably. I assume... we're under high guard."

“That makes… eight. Eight strong villains, and probably some Nomu and other league members,” Hitoshi added. Yaomomo nodded and turned back to the screen.

“Eight villain heads... Likely Nomu... and many lackeys. Likely no AFO? Be prepared... Act fast.” Yaomomo hit send for the third time. “And done. We can only hope for help.”

_And we can only hope help’ll come before another death occurs._

…

If only her fruitless wish came true.


	45. Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 2 - Daily Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentioned c*tting, described body m*tilation, many deaths, including the death of children and implied child ab*se  


A few days later, Hitoshi awoke to the sound of a bell.

He blinked away sleep and looked up to see the monitor alight. Monokuma’s face graced the screen. His beady eyes seemed angry; Hitoshi flinched and wrapped the sheets tighter around his lean form.

“Ahem! This is an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!” Hitoshi flinched again at Monokuma’s sudden rise in volume; it was clearly intended to wake up every student. “Got your attention? Good.

“Everyone, please wash up as per usual and come down to the auditorium within the next hour! I repeat, clean yourselves all up so we don’t have to deal with your stinky morning breath and drag your sorry asses down to the aud! Get over here ASAP!”

And then the message cut off.

Hitoshi sighed heavily; running his fingers through his tousled violet hair. _Guess I have no choice. He seems to be in a bad mood_

The Psychic monotonously went through the motions -brushing his teeth, taking a shower, changing, brushing out his bird’s nest mess of hair-, the only scrap of motivation in his mind being that everyone’ll be mad at him if he doesn’t clean himself up to look half-decent. _I should check on Denki after this, too,_ he mused as he fixed his tie and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. _He should wash up, too._

Hitoshi left his room on light steps and hurried down to Denki’s room. He knocked on the door; shuffling could be heard inside as the room’s occupant greeted him. “Hitoshi.” The blonde's voice rasped; he looked more like a mess than even Hitoshi. “What a surprise, I was just about to leave.”

“No, you aren’t,” the violette said promptly in return. He entered the too-bright room and shut the door behind him. “I’m going to help you fix up your appearance, okay?”

“Hm. Does it matter?”

“It does.” Without any more words, Hitoshi gently took Denki’s arm and dragged him to his desk. “Sit down. I’ll brush out your hair.”

The Electrician obliged and sat still in his chair, allowing Hitoshi to pick up the brush on the tabletop and smooth out his tangled golden locks. The latter worked in silence, breaking the comfortable quiet only when he hit a knot in Denki’s hair and uttered a small “Sorry if it hurts”, to which the latter muttered, “S’okay.”

After a few minutes, Hitoshi was satisfied with his work. Not that he was one to talk; his own tresses generally looked like a dead peacock’s tail at best. He stepped back and set the brush down. “Go look at yourself in the mirror,” he suggested to his friend.

Denki got up and gazed into his reflection for a moment. “Thanks, but… why did you make me look so energetic?” he inquired softly.

“W-Well… this was how you looked as a hero, right?” Hitoshi tried to salvage an answer, mentally slapping himself after the words already left his tongue. _Why would I dig up old memories that probably hurt like hell for him now? Hero days… that meant days he spent happy, spent with all of his class, with Kyouka, with a future ahead of him instead of death waiting to swallow him up each and every day._

“...” Denki was quiet as he reached up, sleeves sliding back a centimeter and revealing the edges of dusty porcelain bandages. He tousled the bouncy locks Hitoshi had brushed out, causing them to fall down a little, drooping like wilted flowers; a mirror image of his mind, of the energy of this place. “I’m no hero,” Denki muttered softly, blinking at himself in the mirror.

Hitoshi stared at his last companion for a heartbeat before slowly slipping forward and wrapping his arms around the smaller, looping his hands in front of Denki’s shallow stomach. “You’re a hero to me,” he whispered. “You’ve survived all this time, haven’t you? You’re a winner in the end.”

“Surviving so long means shit when everyone else is dead,” Denki replied bitterly. Hitoshi could see the tears edging his sunflower eyes. “Why am I even alive when Kyouka... and Mashirao... and Eijirou and Hanta and Katsuki are all- all _dead?”_

“Because you’re clever. Because you’ve had the _wits_ to make it out alive.” Hitoshi paused, ignoring the tightening of his throat at Denki’s mention of the former Martial Artist. “Promise me we’ll escape together?”

“Mmh.” Denki paused, his eyes vacant and looking at nothing in particular in the mirror. “Promise.”

“Thank you.” Hitoshi pulled back. “Now, I’m sure you have your spare set of clothes around here somewhere, right?”

~~~

In less than ten minutes, Denki had changed into his clean spare outfit. He and Hitoshi walked side-by-side down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor.

When they arrived, they found that a few people were already there. Yaomomo, Shouto, and Tamaki were hovering around the auditorium doors.

“Ah. Good morning, Denki, Hitoshi,” Shouto greeted respectfully. Denki dipped his head in reply while Hitoshi replied with a careful “Good morning to you, too”.

Upon seeing them arrive, Tamaki -who was already standing on the other side of the door as Yaomomo and Shouto- turned around and faced the wall. Hitoshi recalled from the internship lesson that he did that when he was nervous. _He hasn’t actually done that during the Killing Game for as long as I can recall. What’s his problem?_

He didn’t have a chance to ask, because it was at that moment that Nejire and Tsuyu came down the stairs together hand-in-hand. The latter was speaking to Nejire, who replied in meek tones. The bluette appeared exhausted; there were faint bags under her eyes -likely covered by concealer; she _is_ a Beauty Pageant Star, after all. She had long given up on her ridiculous dress shoes, but obviously never thought to pick them up and just snap off the heels; she was shuffling along in fluffy slippers instead.

“H-Hey, guys.” Nejire seemed to have her tired cerulean eyes pinpointed on Yaomomo; they flickered over to Tamaki a few times but appeared afraid to greet him. “Umm, why are we all standing out here?”

“The doors are locked.” Yaomomo shook on the stiff door knob a few times for emphasis. “Don’t know why. Monokuma called us down here, but…”

“HAH! Surprise!” The rodent -bear? robot?- of the hour leaped out from behind a pillar. Tamaki practically leaped out of his skin while Denki jumped and reached for Hitoshi- the latter took his trembling hand. “Upupupu! I scared ya good, didn’t I?”

“Cut to the chase. You woke us all up for no reason, I presume?” Yaomomo snapped.

“Eh? No reason? Ononono, there’s a very good reason for waking ya’ll up.” The black and white creature grinned wickedly. “It’s punishment time!”

“H-Huh? Punishment… time?” Nejire choked out. Her grip on Tsuyu’s hand visibly tightened. “For who..?”

“Calm down, calm down, you guys aren’t the ones being punished.” Monokuma’s grin seemed to grow impossibly wider. “It’s your families.”

“Huh..?” Denki’s voice was desolate. Hitoshi himself was stunned silent.

_My… family?_

A vision of his parents and his little sister holding their cat flickered through his mind.

“One of the prisoners associated with you are to be executed!” Monokuma declared in an all-too-joyful tone. “It’s punishment for using that fucking SoS device! If only Tooru had destroyed the darn thing. For that hero rescue party we had to call the big guy himself, All for One, as well as all of Overhaul’s little toys! Even now we’re still on high guard! It was ridiculous! Never doing it again! So Shigaraki came up with the perfect little punishment.”

A hostile silence followed Monokuma’s words. Hitoshi could feel a hole opening up in his stomach.

_Who… Who..?_

Images of Aizawa, of Hizashi, of Eri flashed through his head. Inadvertently, the smiling face of Mashirao was suddenly smacked to the forefront of his thoughts as well, sending a pang straight through his chest.

_People I love…_

_Who’s going to die today?_

Monokuma scanned over the assembled with a malicious eye. “That being said, come along! Get into the elevator! We’re going to the trial room~!” With that, a portal opened up under his feet and he tumbled in. “So loooong!” His voice echoed as he fell, before cutting off abruptly as Kurogiri closed the passageway.

Silence had fallen over the students. Hitoshi’s gaze flashed fearfully from person to person. Denki was shaking, his fingers tight on Hitoshi’s hand, fingernails digging into his skin. He didn’t mind; he could barely feel at this point anyway. Nejire had one arm looped around Tsuyu’s back protectively, but her stature was weak. Tsuyu was still as a statue, her expression blank. Tamaki appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown. Shouto stared at the ground; Yaomomo nipped at her thumb in anxiety.

“W-Well…” The Theorist’s voice shuddered. “I guess… we’ll have to go…”

“Mmh.” Nejire turned and took a shaky step forward. “Come on, Tsu…”

The ragged group of seven made their way into the elevator and down to the trial room. As expected, Monokuma was sitting in the throne on none other than Shigaraki himself’s lap. Chisaki flanked them on one side, Kurogiri on the other.

“Upupu… welcome to punishment time~!” Monokuma giggled.

Shigaraki smacked him on the head with a gloved hand. “Be quiet.” He paused to rise, allowing the robotic bear to leap off the throne and settle on the carpeted steps instead. “Hey hey. Long time no see. Nice job on surviving so long, but that device fiasco really caused a lot of trouble, you hear? A couple of your hero buddies had to be put down. A shame.” He sighed. “Nonetheless, we have to carry out the punishment for such bad behavior. Come on, let’s get down to the trial chamber. Live shows are fun, right?”

Without further ado, a portal appeared under his feet, similar to the one Monokuma had vanished into earlier. Chisaki turned to regard the students with condescending eyes. “Come on. Follow me.” He calmly strode down the steps and made for one of the passages leading away from the trial circle.

As Hitoshi began to tail the yakuza, he felt a pit of fear and uncertainty swirling in his stomach.

_Who is going to die today..?_

_Will it be Aizawa, who has always been there for me, who has been understanding and finally allowed me to start on my path as a hero?_

_Will it be Hizashi, who has been cheerful and ever so kind since the day I stepped into their lives just a few years ago, who has managed to lift me up every single time I’ve felt down?_

_Or will it be Eri, sweet Eri, the sister I’ve only known for months although it feels like decades, the sister I adore with all of my tar-black heart?_

_Who’s going to suffer an unnecessary fate in just a few minutes?_

Something cold brushed his hand and he flinched. At his side was Denki, his golden eyes wide with fear. His hand was extended towards the Psychic’s as they continued walking down the seemingly endless dim hallway, the rest of their classmates around them. “Hitoshi… are you… okay?”

There was concern in his voice. There was an unmistakable tone of caring in his words, in his expression, in his gestures; all despite the fear so clear as day in his eyes, in his shaking body. Hitoshi wasn’t sure how to respond to such a question. “I’m… fine.”

“Hm.” Denki turned away and shuffled onwards, Hitoshi matching his pace.

The group of students reached the execution chamber, the rectangular field surrounded by a chain-link fence, in what felt like forever. Shigaraki sat upon a throne, lit by a singular lamp, on the other side of the field and behind the fence. _Invincible._

Monokuma sat in his lap. “Puhuhu! We’re all here now, aren’t we? Now… may the League of Villains present… the ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT TIME!”

“Hmm…” Shigaraki hummed. “Let’s see how much despair this will create. Your sniveling grasping and reaching for hope… let us all see how much that disgusting notion has cost you.”

Kurogiri opened up a portal in the center of the empty gray field.

“Now, for the opening act of our show…” Monokuma sneered. “...is dedicated to none other than our favorite pretty little detective, Miss Yaoyorozu Momo!”

Beside him, Hitoshi heard Yaomomo give a sharp intake of breath as the portal receded and a girl who seemed no more than just past high school tumbled out onto the cold, unforgiving ground.

“C-Cynthia!” Yaomomo’s voice sliced through the still air as she rushed to the fence, her fingers laced in the chain links. There was a sort of hollow desperation in her words, a feeling Hitoshi had never seen her express. “Cynthia!”

“Momo-chan..?” The young lady was dressed in a black and white maid’s outfit. The dress and lace were in tatters; her azure hair, dyed in a gradient of scarlet from the tips, was tied back in a smooth ponytail with a darker blue ribbon. A white lace headband adorned the once-glossy tresses. _I suppose the League gave her a hairbrush, but not a change of clothes._ Dried blood splattered her cheek. Her cerulean eyes, the same shade as the ribbon, were disoriented as she looked up at Yaomomo. “Momo-chan, is that… is that you..?”

She shakily rose to her feet before stumbling forward, obviously unused to moving around so much. Her knees seemed wobbly, her limbs weak. “Momo..?”

“Y-Yes, it’s me!” Yaomomo tried to reach her hand through one of the chains, her fingers struggling against the metal. “Cynthia…”

“Momo, I- I thought you were dead…” Cynthia’s voice rasped as she hit the fence, her fingers against her friend’s. “I thought… they had killed you…”

“No, I’m not dead, no,” Yaomomo quickly said, her words coming out hurried, tears springing to her eyes. “Cynthia, listen, you’re about to be-”

Before she could finish, a row of thin, spear-like blades, narrow and gleaming sharp under the hot lights of the execution chamber, sprung out of the earth. The tips sliced into both Yaomomo and Cynthia’s fingertips, and both girls stumbled back. Yaomomo let out a yelp of shock while Cynthia merely whimpered, a small sound strained from her throat. _Of course. She’s used to the physical pain…_

“Y-Yaomomo-!” Shouto hurried forward, a steady hand on her shoulder as she clutched her own bleeding fingers. Magenta droplets hit the floor. The Detective’s silver eyes were fixed on a point between the blades; Cynthia was standing there, hands at her sides, blood flowing freely onto the ground. Her eyes were sad as she met Yaomomo’s stare.

_>Cynthia Miito’s execution: Maze of Needles : Executed!<_

A spear suddenly erupted out of a floor tile right in front of her, barely missing her nose. She stepped back, eerily calm, before turning around to face the field.

All around the chamber, spears were rising sporadically from the ground and retracting in the same fashion, creating a deadly web of metal points. Cynthia scanned the field for a few seconds before turning to glance at her ravenette friend, find her tearful silver eyes.

A pair of blades rising at angles around her -just barely missing striking her in the skull had she not dodged- snapped her attention back to the execution at hand. She seemed to set herself before racing into the field, quickly dodging the spears on painfully uneven footing.

She was doing pretty well avoiding getting hit when she miscalculated a step and sidled straight into a criss-crossing of blades, throwing her impaled body a few feet into the air, suspended on the spears. The metal points had managed to strike right through her abdomen, likely rupturing half her major organs.

“Guhh…” The maid’s choked gasp echoed in the now-silent chamber. All of the spears suddenly swiftly retracted back into the ground, allowing her broken and bloody body to hit the ground. Her breathing and Yaomomo’s ragged, choked sobs were the only hints of sound in the room.

“M… Momo…” Yaomomo seemed to freeze in place, her eyes wide as she stared at Cynthia’s crumpled facedown body on the stone earth. “Thank you… for everything…”

Tears slid silently down the Affluent Progeny's flushed cheeks as she could do nothing but stare. Cynthia took a shaky inhale; one of her very last, it seemed. “I don’t think… I’m so scared of dying… knowing you’re alive…” Another choked breath; she struggled to possibly move her head, to look at Yaomomo in the face, but a few strains of her arms and hands and she stopped, going limp once more. She instead managed to tilt her head so she could side-eye her audience instead. “Thanks for… being my only friend…”

A final exhale.

Hitoshi held his own breath as he awaited her to inhale once more.

She never did.

A crane arm appeared from above and lowered into the chamber, clamping unceremoniously around Cynthia’s limp, bloody body and lifting her up and away to some corpse fridge- whatever the League did with the dead bodies. Yaomomo began to sob, her knees giving out under her as she collapsed to the ground against the fence, bleeding fingers pressed against the chains. Shouto crouched down next to her, one arm looping around her torso and a hand rubbing her back. He offered no words; nothing could possibly soothe her after seeing Cynthia die

_Right._

_She died because of us… because we used that device…_

_And that’s only the first of the executions. There’s… seven of us…_

_Why..?_

The rest of the assembled could only stare blankly at the pool of blood soaking into the ground; _what’s the chamber floor even made of? It looks like stone yet is soaking up that magenta puddle like a wine stain on a shirt…_

“Puhu… exhilarating, isn’t it?” Monokuma had the nerve to look amused; Shigaraki had an expert bored-face on. “That’s just the opening act, too! We’ve got plenty more…

“Next, it’s time for Mister Theorist Shouto Todoroki’s prisoner!”

A new portal opened up, right over the drying pool of blood. Shouto stiffened as a young man with white hair tumbled out into the chamber, landing steadily on his feet before rising. He appeared scuffed and worn, but there was a fire, a fire that blazed vengefully cold as a winter gale, one that resided in his dull gray eyes.

“Natsuo!” Shouto didn’t move from his place at Yaomomo’s side, but his eyes were fixed on his older brother.

“Sh-Shouto… so you’re alive. They didn’t lie. That’s good news.” The older male’s expression softened just a tad. “I’m glad to know you’re okay before I die. Stay alive, wouldja?”

Shouto’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at the other. An arc of flame suddenly exploded from the ceiling, flying straight towards Natsuo in a swirl of vivid cerulean. Panic began to settle into the normally composed Theorist’s features. “L-Look out! Your ri-”

Natsuo was on it before Shouto could even finish his sentence. He whirled around, hand raised, jaw set.

An explosion of ice erupted from his palm.

“Wh..?” The class was stunned silent; Hitoshi himself stared, mesmerized, at the shining ray of water that splashed to the ground as the blazing flames struck crystal and melted into liquid, converging upon each other with no victor.

_How…_

_How does he still have his quirk..?_

“Fun, isn’t it?” Shigaraki drawled from above. “He’s going to duke it out with his own execution. Let’s see who wins, shall we?”

_>Natsuo Todoroki’s Execution: Shades of Blue : Executed!<_

Another arc of flames erupted from above, circling around him like a dragon before plunging inwards. Natsuo caught it just in time, a jet of water and steam arching from his palm. He was in a battle stance, his eyes alert and blazing as he kept a 360-degree lookout for the attacks.

Twin bursts of fire suddenly cascaded from the ceiling, angling to meet and strike Natsuo on both sides. Gritting his teeth, he rose both hands, palms skywards. Ice spiked from his skin, meeting hot cyan tongues in an eruption of steam and water.

Again and again. Another spiral of blaze twirled from the wall behind him, followed by a tsunami of flames from above.

The massive wave of fire struck ice and transformed into water. As it fell, soaking Natsuo, Hitoshi realized that frost was forming on his clothes and hair. He exhaled a plume of cold mist and stiffly looked around; _he’s not used to such exertion of his quirk, even if it’s powerful and he has control of it._

A heartbeat of silence. Hitoshi could hear Natsuo’s breathing; if human beings were more acute, he swore he’d be able to hear Shouto’s heartbeat as well. Suddenly, a streamlined jet of flames blew from a vacuum on the wall, right in front of Natsuo.

The white-haired young man rose both of his hands and directed a shield of ice towards the fire. He was visibly growing weaker by the moment. The barricade of ice was growing thinner and thinner, until-

Natsuo released the frozen shield and leaped to the side, expecting the jet of flame to go straight and fizzle out.

Except it didn’t.

The blue fire curved and arched towards him; Natsuo’s eyes widened and he turned to run for the wall, casting three bullets of frostbite behind him to slow the hellish attack’s progress. It would’ve been a perfect plan except the fire blasted right through the ice at full speed, and Natsuo was backed against the wall.

He stood there, the fire getting closer, hunch-backed and appearing weaker. Frost covered his cheek and one of his eyes was tightly shut due to a vein of ice sliding over it. He rose his right arm, left hand supporting his bicep. A final jolt of crystal erupted from his fingers and was swallowed by the fast approaching flame.

In that split moment, with the flames a mere meter away from him, Hitoshi could see about a hundred thoughts race through the poor guy’s head; a hundred regrets, a hundred unfulfilled promises, a hundred wishes that would never be granted. His eye glazed over with a feeling far too familiar for the Psychic, for all of the students present.

_Despair._

Natsuo leaped out into the flames with his eyes tightly shut.

As the crackle of the fire faded, Hitoshi took one look at the smoldering, charred, crumpled remains of what may have once been a human body on the ground and looked down, eyes tightly shut. In the millisecond his gaze went over Shouto, he could see that the Theorist still had his arms wound around Yaomomo’s shuddering, curled-up figure, but his eyes were fixed on the arena. Tears slipped down his face, silently but steadily in a river of sorrow, of emotion, something he seldom showed to a single soul, not even to Yaomomo, probably.

_That’s only… the second execution…_

_Five more people we must see suffer today._

“Puhuhu… despairful, eh?” Monokuma’s voice was taunting in his ears. “We’re not even close to being done!”

“Please… no more…” Hitoshi thought he could hear Yaomomo whimper. Shouto stroked her back again as she coiled further inwards into herself.

“Next, we have the delightful Tsuyu Asui’s… um… what should we call these..? Oh! Prisoner punishments!” Monokuma seemed awfully happy with his naming prowess. Shigaraki smacked his head with three fingers. “Okay, okay! I’ll hurry up!” the bear grumbled. “Anyway- we now move onto the delightful Tsuyu Asui’s prisoner punishment!”

A new portal appeared, and out tumbled the small, scrawny figure of a young boy, younger than the high-schoolers and shorter than Tsuyu. _Tsuyu… that must be her little brother, right..?_

“Wh-Where..?” The boy’s voice croaked and faded. He was wearing the tattered remains of a plain blue T-shirt; well, maybe it was once blue. It had faded to an odd gray now. His dark green hair was tangled and dirty; his expression was blank, devoid of all. He surprisingly ignored the heap of charred Natsuo as he turned. _Maybe he didn’t notice..._

He got up to look around when his hazy eyes landed on the assembled students; specifically on his own sister, the girl having shuffled to the front of the group next to Shouto. She was now standing with her hands pressed to the fence. Nejire stood behind her in a mildly overprotective fashion, the turn of her lips betraying her everlasting concern for the shorter.

“S-Sami… dare..?” Tsuyu’s own voice came out as a rasp. “You’re… alive. That’s cool, I guess.”

“Onee-san?” Samidare got up and began to stumble towards the fence. “Tsu?”

He never made it to the Swimmer, though, as a massive, thorny vine reached out of the damp ground and snatched him around the middle, tossing him up into the air.

_>Samidare Asui’s Execution: The Scraps Tossed to the Dogs : Executed!<_

Samidare shrieked -whether in terror and pain, Hitoshi was unsure- as the vine let him go airborne; the thorns must’ve hurt to some degree, although they didn’t seem to draw blood. Tsuyu drew in a sharp breath as a second vine sprouted from the ground and reached up to flick him across the arena with a harsh edge, followed by a third and a fourth.

The vines were keeping Samidare’s limp, wriggling form in the air as if participating in some sick game of volleyball. He screamed and cried as the vines threw him about like some sort of ragdoll. Hitoshi blinked a few times and realized that the dark green thorns were beginning to pierce skin; bright pink splattered a few of the photosynthetic tentacles, and damp magenta patches were blossoming on the child’s body.

Hitoshi ripped his gaze from the horrific scene in the arena, away from the torturously slow process of Samidare’s body being torn into shreds, and found his eyes glued to Tsuyu. The viridian-haired girl’s expression was blank, frozen as she stared at the execution, but tears were running a steady track down her face. Nejire was stiff behind her, unsure if touching her would offer comfort or agony.

More and more vines sprouted from the earth bearing even longer thorns with equally sharp points. The vines converged upon Samidare, who had ceased screaming; he only cried, tears running pink with blood.

His shrieks were abruptly cut off as a ghastly ripping noise hit the chamber walls.

Hitoshi was entranced as the vines fell back, allowing the pieces of the small boy’s corpse to hit the ground in a tsunami of blood. Fear was set into his every limb, but he couldn’t move. He could only watch; he was merely a useless bystander in everything, after all.

A strangled sob suddenly tore its way out of Tsuyu’s throat as she began to cry, arms wrapped around her stomach as she openly wept. Nejire tentatively leaned over to wrap her arms around Tsuyu’s shuddering figure; the smaller leaned into her touch like a child to her mother.

Words could be made out as Tsuyu began babbling incoherently between sobs. “S-Stop it all… I’m shaking… my eyes… burn… it burns… p-please save him… Samidare… save him… I can’t… burns… shakes…”

Hitoshi tried not to linger too long on Tsuyu’s seemingly random assortment of words as Nejire offered hushed words of comfort and stroked her hair with tender fingers. Meanwhile, Monokuma chuckled from the throne on the other side of the arena. Behind him, Shigaraki seemed to smile. “Puhuhu… despairful, how despairful…” He got a hold of himself and continued with the show. “The next one’s for you, Mister Tamaki Amajiki!”

Hitoshi pretty much began to tune out the senseless violence at this point, his own brain unwilling to process anything anymore. A woman who looked about thirty landed in the arena. She had long, dark hair like Tamaki’s but bore shockingly vibrant, green eyes. Her figure was lean like her son’s.

Hitoshi watched through hazy eyes as she ducked and dodged and ran to avoid the axe blades flying out of the ceiling at her like ninja stars. One nicked her on the shoulder; another on her leg. Then, as she limped along in a futile attempt to dodge, a blade sliced her head clean off in a spray of blood.

As Tamaki silently watched, tears streaking down his face, his entire body shaking and eyes wide, the axes rained down on her broken body and cut it into a hundred pieces.

There was blood everywhere, flesh and fluid and mucus sprayed all over the floor and soaking into the tiles. Hitoshi nearly gagged viewing the scene; Tamaki was having a breakdown, curled up on the floor with his head buried under his arms, sobbing quietly. Nejire tried to pull away from Tsuyu to move towards him, but she grabbed onto the bluette and cried harder, restraining her from her friend. The Beauty Pageant’s eyes were pained as she watched Tamaki, unable to shift a centimeter.

Then, much to Hitoshi’s surprise -enough to snap him back into reality-, Denki slipped over to Tamaki’s side, crouching down and quietly inquiring something. Hitoshi could make out a weak “Stay here” through Tamaki’s sobs, his back shaking as he cried. Denki placed a hand on his shoulder.

However, when Hitoshi looked to his expression, it was one of fear and anxiety, not of concern.

_His hands are shaking, too._

He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. Monokuma was moving on.

“And now, here we present a familiar face… it’s time for Hitoshi Shinsou’s prisoner execution!”

_Oh no._

_Hell no._

A portal appeared.

_Who… who..?_

A tall, slim man with long blonde hair tumbled out, landing unceremoniously on his stomach with a groan.

_Oh God._

“D-Dad!” He couldn’t help but cry out and rush to the fence, fingers lacing into the links as if trying to undo them and force himself in. Everything else seemed to fade; it was just him and his father, his _father_ who was currently getting to his feet and rearranging his glasses on his angular face.

“Hitoshi..?” Hizashi’s voice was hushed, for once; whether it was from shock or the loss of his quirk the Psychic would never know. “You’re alive…”

“Y-Yeah…” Hitoshi’s grip on the chain-link tightened. “I’m sorry…”

“Sorry?” Hizashi, despite the clear exhaustion in his viridian eyes, tilted his head like a confused cat; _something he picked up from Papa, no doubt._ “What’re you saying sorry for?”

Hitoshi felt his throat tighten. “It’s my fault… our fault… that the prisoners had to be killed… y-you…” He couldn’t help the tears from falling, the sobs from forcing their way out of his throat in strangled gasps. He looked down, his hands over his face, hiding him from the world. He could feel Hizashi’s eyes burning into him, as well as a good chunk of his classmates staring at him. _God, how embarrassing…_

“It’s not your fault, Hitoshi.”

The violette looked up, hands lowering. Hizashi was gazing at him with warm, emerald eyes, tears edging them like crystalized ghosts of raindrops. The small, sad hints of a smile tugged at his lips. “You guys are only trying to escape, and you’re doing a darn good job at that. You couldn’t have known this would happen, alright?”

Hitoshi could only cry in return.

“Please… don’t beat yourself up over it, okay, Hitoshi?” The blonde continued. “I’m sure Papa- Aizawa- will forgive you, too. As if there was anything to forgive in the first place.”

The violette tried to swallow his pitiful sobbing and heaved a ragged breath, looking up to his father with dark, teary eyes. “Dad…”

Whatever last words he might’ve wished to say instantly died in his throat as a loud rattle exploded from the ceiling.

_>Hizashi Yamada’s Execution: Open Mic Night : Executed!<_

A cacophony of screeching, of birdcall, erupted from an enclosure in the ceiling, held back via a cage door. The metal rattled as whatever was captured up there clamored to be let loose. Hizashi turned, panic evident in his features, eyes fixed skywards to the cage.

Monokuma’s laugh echoed through the chamber as he whipped out a dark green remote control. Shigaraki snatched it from him and fiddled with the buttons and switches for a moment, eliciting a rusty _click, screech_ from the ceiling trap.

The door swung open; with it swarmed a flock of what seemed to be massive cockatoos- _Nomus,_ clearly, considering the size, wingspan, and furious scarlet eyes of the birds. The creatures descended upon Hizashi, hovering in a loose circle around him. Ear-splitting squawks, ones that struck Hitoshi’s chest like lightning bolts, were ripped from their deathly sharp beaks.

“H-Hey there birdies…” Anxiety slipped through Hizashi’s cracking voice. He stood his ground, sweeping over the offenders with swift glances. “Whatcha doing?”

At that prompting, the birds dove at him with murder in their eyes.

“AUGH!” Hizashi’s scream embedded itself in Hitoshi’s head, ringing in his skull like an eternal church bell, except the deity he was worshipping was from the depths of hell itself. Tears streaked down his face in rivers as he watched, entranced, through his fingers.

The birds were mauling Hizashi, diving at him, ripping at appendages and limbs, their deadly black beaks swiftly soaking pink as they sliced through clothes and tore skin, hitting flesh and veins, bringing mucus-coated bone to gleaming yellow light and then snapping those, the fragments hitting the ground one by one.

Hitoshi wasn’t so sure when his father died, only that his screams of agony carried on for at least a few minutes. Or was it seconds? He’d lost all sense of time a while ago.

He only knew that the massive white birds had turned pink by the time they were done, by the time they backed away for a split second to survey their deadly work, the chunks of flesh and skin and clothes and bone and organs scattered all over the ground. Hitoshi gagged; a heap of torn, slimy darker pink film was presumably a stomach. Acid leaked onto the ground, pooling around the torn body parts. Blood soaked the ground, soaked the entire chamber.

The birds, full from scavenging their kill, ascended to the cage again, quieter this time with their bellies satisfied. The chamber was silent upon the closure of the cage door that locked the birds back into their living quarters above with the other apocalyptic Nomu.

Well, for Hitoshi, it only left him alone with his thoughts, looping, delirious words of _Oh God I’m going to throw up what the fuck oh my God it’s my fault this is my fault please don’t let me throw up oh my God please please be a dream be a fucking dream what is happening I’m going insane it’s my fault it’s my fault it’s my fau-_

A hand on his shoulder. Hitoshi jumped and whipped around only to see Denki, the Electrician’s cold hand shakily extended to him. It was a silent act of comfort, but it quenched the voices in his head for a moment, even if it was brief, and even if the tears still fell from his violet eyes.

Back on the other side of the arena, Monokuma giggled. “Puhu…” Shigaraki silently surveyed the execution chamber strewn with corpse parts. From Cynthia’s bloodstain to the pile of Natsuo’s ashy remains, as well as the pieces of Samidare, Tamaki’s mother, and Hizashi, the area was like a warzone.

“Two more to go.” The handsy League leader’s voice was monotonous as per usual. His words were hardly registering in Hitoshi’s ringing ears. “Let us move on already. It’s time for Denki Kaminari’s prisoner execution.”

Hitoshi immediately felt Denki began to shake, his hand weakening. In a surge of impulsiveness, his addled mind incapable of maintaining any dignity, he whirled around and wrapped his arms around his smaller friend in an encompassing hug. Denki was still shaking, but at least Hitoshi felt as if he were doing something to help.

_Selfish, selfish, I’m so stupidly selfish…_

***

Kurogiri opened a portal, transporting a massive glass tank, akin to an aquarium exhibit, into the chamber. It landed right on top of a various collection of body parts; the floor of the tank was see-through, so the crushed remains of the dead shone through like some sort of twisted mat.

The portal shrunk to human size over the top of the open tank.

_Why? Why is this happening? This can’t… this can’t be… this… can’t... _

There were a hundred thoughts speeding through Denki’s head, and none of them were pleasant.

_This… can’t be…_

Out tumbled a young girl, eight years old, her hair the same shade as her big brother’s and held back with a black headband. Her stature was frail, her hands delicate and gentle, her heart too big for the small body she was gifted.

She landed in the middle of the tank, right next to the image of scrap of Samidare’s skin through the glass floor, the ground painted pink below her no matter where one looked. She yelped as she caught herself on her hands and knees, the tan gown and dark gray leggings loosely covering her little frame. As she opened her eyes, her wide, vibrantly green eyes, her gaze landed on the disaster under her enclosure.

She blinked.

Emotionless.

“Ichika!” Denki felt the name being torn out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He ripped himself out of Hitoshi's grasp, throwing himself against the chain-link fence instead. He felt a warm hand against his back. “Ichika!”

The little girl, his beloved sister, looked up from the floor and met his eyes. A smile slipped over her lips. “Nii-san..! You’re alive!” Her voice was soft, but loud enough to be heard clearly despite the tank, her eyes lighting up like the first stars of twilight. “I’m happy to see you again."

She got up but made no move to run for her brother- her warm, emerald gaze swept across the horrors across the chamber, at the tank holding her hostage. “What happened here?” Her voice was steady, not even shaking a single bit.

_She’s so strong… too strong…_

_She didn’t deserve this…_

_Ichika…_

“I-It’s the… execution chamber…” Denki swallowed down the knot in his throat. “You’ve seen them broadcast the trials, s-surely…”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know about the executions.” Ichika surveyed the environment with a maturity -or is it reckless, ignorant bravery?- far beyond her age. “This is some sort of wicked punishment, huh?” She looked up at Monokuma’s glowing red eye on the throne above, the offenders safe and sound outside of the chamber. “Why kill so many innocent prisoners?”

Both Monokuma and Shigaraki were silent.

There was a _thump_ high above. All heads snapped skywards.

One of many massive, rubber hoses lowered from the ceiling.

A click.

_I’m so sorry, Ichika._

_>Ichika Kaminari’s Execution: Faulty Aquarium Exhibition : Executed!<_

Water sprayed out from the hose, hitting the tank and steadily filling it. Ichika jumped away from the splash, backing to the corner of the tank as the liquid began to spread. Within minutes, the water was even all throughout the tank, rapidly rising to her ankles.

“Ah… so this is what I’m supposed to endure.” Ichika stared at her feet before looking back to her audience, to her brother, to Denki. There was resignment in her sad expression. “Thanks for everything, Denki.”

“N-No-!” The Electrician cried out, his fingers clutching the loops of metal, rattling it in a desperate attempt to get through to her. “Ichika, come on… this… wasn’t supposed to happen..! You were supposed to live a successful life and become a hero, right..? So please, try to get out the tank or something!”

_Anything…_

_Anything but this..!_

“Sorry, Nii-san…” Ichika was downcast. “But you know I can’t do that. I can’t escape. Shigaraki wouldn’t allow that.”

_Shigaraki._

_The League of Villains._

_I’m going to fucking kill them for this._

_For hurting… my little sister..._

“B-But… Ichika-” he choked out.

“No. You know I’m right.” Ichika sighed. “I always am, huh?”

Silence fell upon the chamber, the only sound being from the water sloshing into the tank, rising higher and higher.

One minute passed, then two.

The water was up to Ichika’s chin now, and she was making no attempt to swim or escape. Her blonde locks floated in the crystal-clear liquid, her clothes rippling in the flow of the pump. Denki stared, wide-eyed, tears slipping down his cheeks. She met his gaze.

“Thank you, Nii-san. For everything. I love you.”

_Her voice is like a song._

Then she closed her eyes and allowed the liquid to flow over her face, her head going under.

There was something serene about her as she accepted her fate to drown, to die because she was given no choice otherwise. There was a pure sort of relaxation, of painless suffering in her face as she allowed the water to pass through her parted lips and into her rose-filled lungs, to wash over the thorns that ensnared her heart, a heart filled with too much love everyone and everything, with far too much understanding and forgiveness for anyone to even begin to accept and reciprocate.

Of course that wouldn’t last.

Entranced by his sister’s dying expression, Denki had failed to notice the jagged metal rod that had extended from the far corner of the tank.

A surge of electricity ripped through the clear liquid like flames incinerating a piece of paper. Through the glass, Ichika’s body convulsed in a spasm, her face taking on an expression of intense, burning agony as the voltage flowed through every cell of her body.

There was another shock. And another. And another. The water steamed; small bolts crackled on the surface of the tank’s contents. Ichika’s body was limp, spasming with each and every shockwave, fully in the control of the surges.

“Please… stop…” Denki whimpered as the small girl’s likely unconscious -dead?- body convulsed again with another shock. “Please…”

The shockwaves stopped after another three jolts, and Ichika’s body floated to the top of the tank.

_Dead._

“Puhu… such a nice girl, meeting such an unfortunate end.” Monokuma’s vile voice rang through the execution chamber. “Much like our final prisoner.”

“N-No…” Nejire’s voice was hushed, but audible and wracked with anguish. “Not… her…” Her grip on Tsuyu visibly tightened, despite the shorter having ceased crying, resigned to pitifully coiling up in her guardian’s arms instead.

“Of course, unlike poor Miss Kaminari-” Denki flinched at the mention of his family name, “-our final prisoner won’t be undergoing such a punishment. No, she’s going to be going through something much worse.”

_What could possibly be worse than tearing away the future of a little girl who has yet to see the world?_

“Introducing… Nejire Hadou’s prisoner, Eri!”

Something went cold in the deepest pits of Denki’s stomach.

***

_Not… her…_

_Anyone… but her…_

The tank was sucked up by the portal, taking Ichika with it. Denki was surprisingly silent, perhaps being too stunned to make any audible protest. The portal shrank to human size again, just like when it’d teleported Ichika.

Nejire didn’t notice she was shaking until Tsuyu reached up and placed a cool, comforting hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on the portal.

Except instead of a small, blue-haired girl with crimson eyes and a singular horn, a man wearing a beak-like mask stepped out of the portal.

_Kai Chisaki._

And in his metallic arms was Eri, tiny Eri, dressed in a dull, cerulean gown, her horn having grown long enough to curl.

Bandages adorned her twig-like arms and legs. Her face was blank, but there was a sort of manic fear and panic in her dead stare, in the depths of her scarlet eyes, _eyes the color of blood run dry._

She turned her head and Nejire flinched, cold sweat beading down the sides of her face.

_She’s looking straight at me._

The girl’s expression was unreadable.

“As you can all see, your ignorance has gotten Eri back in my grasp, as she should be. Don’t worry.” There was a hint of mocking in the yakuza’s voice. “She’ll be safe with me.”

Another portal opened up underneath his feet and he sank into it. Eri curled back up in his chest, head turned so that she could bury her face in her arms and hands.

_It’s my fault. It’s my fault._

_This is… all my fault…_

“G-Guys… I’m… so sorry…” Nejire sobbed. Tears dripped down her face in a relentless torrent. “It’s my fault… th-this is…”

“It’s okay, Nejire.” Yaomomo’s voice was hollow. “It’s okay. None of us… saw this coming…”

“Puhuhu… fun, wasn’t it?” Monokuma’s voice was filled with taunting, with sick amusement. “That concluded our show! Have a nice day… upupu.”

“Class dismissed,” Shigaraki drawled. “Please go down the hallway and then load onto the elevator, yada-yada-yada, you know the drill. See you all later~”

“Oh! Shigaraki, you forgot something!” Nejire’s blood ran cold as Monokuma suddenly spoke up again. “If we see you kids use that machine even just one more time, we’ll execute another prisoner per person!”

_Ah…_

_Our escape…_

“So keep that in mind and run off now! Toodles!” the bear continued. Shigaraki followed that up with a huffy “Shoo, shoo”.

The class turned, dejected, and began to shuffle away, each of them bearing a new weight on their shoulders. Nejire took Tsuyu’s hand and started down the hall, eyes fixed to the floor, a hundred thoughts paddling circles in her skull.

_Why did Eri have to be my prisoner, of all people..?_

_Why me? Why..?_

_I’ve failed her… and look where that’s gotten her._

_I’m so sorry, Eri._

_I’m so sorry._

_God, I’m so fucking sorry._

_I’ve failed._

_I’ve failed again._

**You tried your best, but it wasn’t enough.**


	46. Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 3 - Deadly Life

The day started normally; the same as usual. Well, as normal as life in a killing game can be.

Yaomomo sighed, aimlessly wandering the halls of the library, running her calloused fingertips against the infinitely many dusty spines of books. She ignored the filthy feeling of gathering dirt on her skin as she left a clean streak along the shelves.

_She didn't care about anything anymore._

Cynthia's dying moments replayed in her head far more often than she would've liked. She couldn't help but eternally see visions of spears impaling the blue-haired girl's body, piercing her organs _-keep walking-_ a shower of blood raining from the puncture wounds tunneling through her limp figure, splattering the ground with crimson streaks as she lay dying _-one step, two steps-,_ her final words dedicated to her master, her friend, her only friend _-one foot in front of the other-,_ who betrayed her by using that hell-forsaken device, the device that wound up killing so many innocent people right in front of her eyes _-it's okay-_ and she couldn't do anything about it _-it's okay-_ and it was all her fault _her fucking fault_ for even suggesting they use that device _-it's okay-_ and she should've died instead of them and _it's not okay, it's not fucking okay so stop trying to convince yourself it is-_

"Yaomomo?" The Detective blinked. Once, twice. Shouto was suddenly standing in front of her, a hand on her forearm. She was standing between two massive bookshelves, her dusty fingers against the wood. There was something wet on her face; she reached up with her clean hand and felt tears. _How'd they get here? How long have I stood here?_ "Yaomomo, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." Her voice was monotonous. She wiped away the tears, brushed the dust off of her left hand on her skirt. Her companion stepped back. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for our classmates. Something feels wrong, and I don't know why. But I trust my gut feeling." Shouto sighed and ran a hand through his mussed hair. "I feel like something bad has happened."

Yaomomo could feel a knot forming in the base of her gut. Her palms began to sweat; she wrung them together anxiously. "We're... in a Killing Game," she murmured. "If something's wrong... then..."

She didn't finish her sentence; she didn't have to, judging by the way Shouto visibly jolted. Yaomomo stared at her feet. "Who haven't you seen today..?" she inquired, her voice so soft that one would have to strain to hear it in the silent library.

"Tsuyu, Nejire, Tamaki, and Denki," he replied, anxiety clear in the trembling of his voice. "Come on, we have to find them." Shouto reached out a hand and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her in a beeline for the door. Yaomomo obliged.

_I wonder who we can save today._

_I also wonder who's already too far gone to be revived._

They made their way up the stairs; since the Ultimate Punishment had occurred, most of the students had holed up in their rooms, or something of the like. Hitoshi was the one oddity; he hid out in a closet on the fourth floor, rummaging through the dozens of musty boxes in the dark little space. Yaomomo once tried to ask what he was doing, but he mumbled something gibberish and kept at his work. She only ever tried interrupting him to bring him a tray of food and drink during mealtimes.

Now, he was still in his dusty corner, fingers fumbling through another dusty box. The flickering lightbulb overhead crackled as the duo opened the door a crack.

"Come on... come on, I have to... find... something..." The violette could be heard frantically mumbling, his quiet voice accompanied by the clanking of a heap of metal being shifted around. Yaomomo peered over Shouto's shoulder to see Hitoshi digging through a cardboard box of metal gadgets. His eyes were wide with some sort of deranged panic as his hands jerked through the contents.

"H-Hey, Hitoshi..." Yaomomo tried to grab his attention gently, but he ignored her. "Hitoshi. Hitoshi!" He jumped, snapping out of his mania. The Psychic looked up.

"Ah. Yaomomo and Shouto. What happened?" His voice was monotonous as usual.

"It's petty, but... I feel like something is wrong," Shouto explained, slightly embarrassed judging by the reddening of his ears. "Just wanted to ask if you'd seen the others today."

"Hm." The purple-haired male paused, a finger to his chin. "No." He didn't elaborate. His gaze was already drifting back to his box.

"Fine then. We'll get going, then," Yaomomo said.

Hitoshi nodded in acknowledgement before resuming his activities, continuing to dig through the dusty box with detached interest. Yaomomo tugged on the Theorist's sleeve, dragging him out of the closet and gently closing the door behind them.

The two silently continued on, going all the way up to the dorms. "Are you sure this is really a good idea?" Yaomomo prompted. "I mean, this is based off of your gut feeling that someone has died. Maybe you're just paranoid, or something."

The gesture of comfort was half-hearted; Yaomomo trusted the Theorist's intuition, especially in a killing game where he has been one of the top trial-goers. Besides, she had to agree; she couldn't help but feel paranoid that another murder had occured ever since the Ultimate Punishment _-since you killed Cynthia-,_ when everyone quickly transitioned to being shut-ins.

"i know it's petty. I just know I won't be able to drop it until we do something," Shouto insisted, striding down the hallway. He made way for Nejire's room, knocking on the door. Yaomomo hurried to chase after him.

"H-Hey, I'm serious, it looks kinda silly if you bother everyone for no reason," Yaomomo pushed. Even if she trusted him, on the off-chance Shouto was just being overly paranoid it would be embarrassing to knock on every single living person's door just to make sure they weren't on the floor with a knife in their chest or something.

"I don't care. If I don't do anything, nothing happens. If I'm wrong but check on everyone anyways, nothing happens either. It'll be fine."

Yaomomo opened her mouth to respond when she heard shuffling from within Nejire's room. The bluette opened the door a crack, her cerulean eyes red and clouded. Her hair was an absolute mess, the usually silky locks tangled. Behind her, Tsuyu peered over her shoulder like a curious cat. Her hair was partially brushed, wavy viridian cascading down her back. Her gaze was never stationary, her eyes darting from corner to corner, flashing across Yaomomo and Shouto in a glimmer of recognition.

"Ah... hey..." Nejire tucked her arms behind her back. She was wearing a pale, teal bathrobe over her usual dress, paired with her slippers. "What's up?" The upwards lilt in her voice was obviously faked; she looked like she'd just crawled out of her grave.

"Nothing. I had a sort of gut feeling earlier, thought something was seriously wrong. So I wanted to check up on all of you," Shouto explained. "Sorry for bothering you."

"Oh, that's fine." Nejire's voice was strained. "Thanks for the concern. You should check up on the others. Tsu and I are okay."

She paused awkwardly, clearly waiting for the pair to take their leave. Yaomomo poked Shouto in the side and turned to leave, waving farewell to the Beauty Pageant Star and Swimmer. The Theorist quickly followed suit.

"Next would be Tamaki... right?" Yaomomo pointed across the hall.

"Mmh." Shouto hurried over and knocked on his door, Yaomomo again tailing him. She paused, swaying back and forth on her heels.

One heartbeat. Two. Three.

Tamaki didn't come out.

"Huh. Maybe he's just somewhere else. Come on, let's go find Denki first, then worry about chasing him around the school," Yaomomo insisted. Shouto frowned and followed her up the stairs to Denki's room.

They followed the same ritual at the Electrician's door. Sure enough, the blonde opened the door in a similar hesitant fashion to Nejire. "Hi... guys..."

Shouto explained why they were there again and bid him farewell. The two brainiacs made their way downstairs. "Alright. You want to go hunt down Tamaki now, don't you?" Yaomomo prompted. The heterochronous male nodded in reply. _Gee. He won't let it drop until he makes sure everyone's okay, huh? How sweet..._ "I'm down for it. Do you think we could maybe ask Nejire about where he'd be likely to show up?"

The duo returned to Nejire's room. The bluette took the door; this time, Tsuyu was laying in bed, staring at the wall, her lips moving in ghostly, wordless mumbles. "Ah. Why are you two back again? Did you check up on everyone?"

"Yeah. Tamaki's not in his room, though, so we wanted to know where we could find him." Yaomomo shrugged casually. "Any ideas? You should know him best."

Nejire was silent in reply, her expression going blank. Her entire body had gone rigid like a deer in headlights. "Eh? Nejire?" The Detective blinked and reached out to brush her fingers again the older's; her response was to jerk away from the touch. "Are you okay?"

"Tamaki's... not in his room?" Nejire's voice began to shake; crystal tears were already making their appearance. Her eyes were wide and hazy, still fixated on something invisible in some corner of her unstable mind. Her hands were bunched in fists in front of her collar, nails digging red welts into her pallor skin. Her legs were shuddering; her shift to full-on panic mode was startling, to say the least. She looked about ready to collapse into sobs, despite the fact nothing definitive had happened yet. "He's... always in his room... he never..."

"H-Hey! Don't freak out just yet!" Shouto attempted to soothe the girl, who was clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Tsuyu had jumped off of the bed and was approaching the trio as well, upon seeing her caretaker starting to spiral. "Maybe he just refused to answer the door. He isn't one for letting strangers in, right? We didn't exactly bust down his door."

"Ah... that's... a little better." Nejire gulped, a hand swiftly going to her forehead to wipe away cold sweat. "Did you at least... hear anything from inside the room?"

"No. It was dead quiet. But the doors aren't exactly paper," Yaomomo hurried to add upon seeing Nejire pale again. "Come on. Let's all go down together. Maybe he'll answer if it's you."

"Okay... that sounds fine... Come on, Tsu." Nejire blindly waved a hand behind her, and Tsuyu gently took it. "Let's go... quickly, now."

It turned out that Nejire could run surprisingly fast despite her unsteady footing and slippers, in addition to having Tsuyu in tow. She practically barged into the lobby of room 1-G, stumbling into Tamaki's door. She rapped on the wood with her knuckles, _hard._ There was a sort of manic desperation in her voice as she began to call out for her friend. "Tamaki! Tamaki, it's Nejire! Please, open up! Yaomomo and Shouto came by earlier to check on you, and they said you didn't answer... so I got worried..." She paused. "I'm sorry for bothering you... but please open up!"

There was no response to her summons. Tsuyu stood stiffly behind her, perfectly silent but watching with a clouded look even the Ultimate Detective couldn't read. Shouto anxiously wrung his hands together. Yaomomo was staring at the door, praying the anxious ravenette would just open his goddamn door because _doesn't he know how worried he's making everyone right now?_ She'd say she was going to yell at him once he came out, but knowing his fragile mental state that was likely a poor decision.

_Of course, a dead body wouldn't be able to answer the door, right?_

Yaomomo tried to push the intrusive thought out of her head, but she couldn't just forget the possibility. _He's not answering... even with Nejire crying at his doorstep. She said he'd never leave his room, which seems about right... so... he's got to be in there..._

_"TAMAKI!"_ Nejire's voice cracked as she wailed her companion's name. There were tears in her eyes and she had just about screamed her voice raw. Tsuyu was still as a board; Shouto and Yaomomo exchanged a worried look. "Goddammit, I'm opening the door, you idiot..!"

The bluette grabbed the doorknob, moving to twist it, all of her body weight pulling back as she expected to have to force it open.

The door slid open with ease, the hinges creaking slightly. Nejire yelped and staggered backwards, falling on her behind by Shouto's feet. Tsuyu knelt to help her up; her wide eyes were fixed on the dim interior of the room, fear painted across her expression. She was shaking as she got to her feet; she clutched Tsuyu's hand in her own. "N-No..."

The dormitory lights were off. The chamber seemed completely lifeless. The potted flowers were blossoming, but there were petals and clipped leaves all over the floor. A singular white lily laid on the bed, eerily pristine. There was no hint of anyone being in the bedroom. "H-Hello..?" Nejire called out pitifully. She began to shuffle into the dark space, unwilling to touch even the light switch. The others followed her example. "Tamaki..?"

"Hey, hey... the bathroom..." Yaomomo flinched; Tsuyu's voice was so soft it could've been a ghost's. There was a haunted hollowness in her words as she pointed towards the area in question. "The light..."

Yaomomo snapped her head around to follow her finger. Sure enough, the crack under the bathroom door -which was shut- emitted a strip of stark-white light. Nejire saw, too; she immediately rushed over, practically running into it.

"Hey, Tamaki..." She gulped; her voice trembled. "I-If you're in there... I hope you have g-good reason for not answering me... all this time..!"

She yanked open the door, and the room was flooded with light.

There was nobody in the bathroom.

"Huh?" Confused, Nejire shuffled inside, glancing around, arms crossed fearfully across her chest. "Hello-?"

She turned to face right and blanched. Yaomomo pushed past Shouto and Tsuyu as her eyes widened, lips parted in shock. Her tears overflowed all at once, a river of diamonds rushing down her flushed cheeks.

Yaomomo barely heard her scream, barely heard her collapse onto the cold stone floor, barely heard Shouto and Tsuyu rush in behind her.

She could do nothing but see. Observe the situation like a passerby.

There was nothing they could do now but watch.

_A painting of insanity written all over the shower walls, pale ivory dyed pink with splatters and streaks of blood; a poem of horror, smudged but legible, shaky lettering dripping down the smooth tiles._

_A body, sitting slumped on the shower floor, dressed in a monochrome suit and pants, the clothes slashed and soaked with hot, sticky magenta fluid, soaked with liquid that made the cloth stick to his skin, to his bony figure, to his mutilated corpse._

_A patchwork of cuts, of slashes, a masterpiece of rips in his skin- a veil of weeping, dark slits of eyes all over his wrists, down his arms, across his chest, his stomach, his neck; broken flesh that oozed pink, gushed a river of blood that pooled around his body, soaked him to the core with death, surrounded him in a mist of rust._

_A face,_ his _face, ever young and peaceful, framed by midnight-dark tresses, hair streaked with salmon, the blood leaking from a dark ravine in the front and center of his skull, the wound swift and clean and trickling sticky pink liquid down his face, over his closed eyes, eyes that once shone with a thousand galaxies, a hundred stars, a million comets to be wished upon, eyes that were now forever shut in an eternal sleep._

_The nebulas were dead._

_A knife lay by his bloody hand, the silver blade covered to the hilt in magenta._

"Ta... maki..."

The room was silent, spare for Nejire's ragged, choked sobs. Yaomomo couldn't do anything but stare at the body, because what else was there to do? Cry? Run? She didn't know anymore, didn't know what to do.

Dimly, she heard the monitor bleep to life from the other room.

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, a class trial will begin!"_

Then it was silence all over again. Shouto and Tsuyu hovered, almost nonexistent, behind her. Nejire bawled, sobs ripped out of her throat like a desperate bird's call; a bird who called and sang for their soulmate, a soulmate who lay dead in the streets. She was the bird who kept singing for their return even when the corpse began to rot and gather flies, who called when even the heavens began to weep in mourning, who called and called until she had grown old and weary and even the bones on the asphalt had disintegrated.

It was a cry of longing- a cry of loneliness, of loss, of sorrow, of anger.

"Tamaki..!" A few choked words made their way over Nejire's tongue amidst her sobs. "Wh-Why?! Why... Why would you leave me here all alone..?! I'm so... s-so scared..! P-Please... come back..!"

Tamaki's dead body was still, spare for the blood that dripped from his head.

"I think... I'll go get the others," Shouto stammered out, his voice soft. Yaomomo turned to watch him hurriedly walk back into the bedroom and out the door. He shut it quietly; there was no need to, really. Nejire's wails were loud enough to drown out any sound.

Hitoshi and Denki were summoned swiftly, entering the claustrophobic bathroom to glimpse the body out of sheer human curiosity, because really, only Yaomomo and two other unlucky people had to see the body if it came down to that. The Detective shuffled awkwardly against the sink as the duo gave their due reactions to the cadaver in the blood-coated shower.

"Oh... Oh god..." Denki's voice was a whisper; he seemed breathless, his eyes wide with some sort of unreadable emotion as he gazed upon Tamaki's corpse. On the other hand, Hitoshi was stunned silent.

"Puhuhu... this one's gonna be a fun one." Everyone except Nejire and Tsuyu collectively jumped as a certain robotic bear's voice could be heard just outside the bathroom. Monokuma toddled into the over-crowded room. "Here's your tablet, ya chumps!" He threw the File to Yaomomo. "I'll let y'all investigate now! Toodles!"

With that, the bear was gone.

"W-Well..." Shouto's words were subdued. "Let's... investigate."

_>Investigation : Start!<_

"Let's leave Nejire alone for a minute and look at the File," Shouto suggested, looking at the tablet in her hands. "Let's all step out into the bedroom."

Shouto, Yaomomo, Denki, and Hitoshi quickly filed out of the bathroom. Tsuyu hung back to stay at Nejire's side; nobody questioned her. Yaomomo glanced back to see the Swimmer crouch by the bluette but do nothing more to comfort her. _I guess she knows best. Maybe Nejire's the type who wants to be left alone._

Yaomomo sighed and turned around. She clicked on the tablet.

_>Monokuma File VIII_

_Victim: Tamaki Amajiki_

_Other Wounds: There are cuts all over his body inflicted by some sort of sharp object._

_Weapon: Knife<_

Yaomomo tapped the screen. "That's it."

"That sure clears things up," Shouto muttered, groaning. "At least we now have the knife as solid evidence."

"Let's investigate this bedroom, then," Hitoshi suggested. "Maybe we'll find something of note."

The four split up into two groups and went to opposite sides of the room. Shouto and Yaomomo began to go through Tamaki's desk, the latter inspecting the drawers. Shouto seemed to have a particular interest in the notepad, squinting at the metal spiral and small sheets of lined paper.

"Shouto?" He looked up as Yaomomo tapped him on the shoulder. "What's so interesting about the notebook?"

Shouto ran his finger over the paper, frowned, and set it down on the desk. He let out a sigh and turned to fully face his investigation partner. "I suspect that Tamaki's death was a suicide," he explained. "The writing on the wall, the cuts that appear self-inflicted down his arms, the knife, the bathroom, everything- it _looks_ like a suicide. I was hoping there'd be a suicide note, or something. That would seal the deal."

"Well, is there?"

"Not in the notepad, no." Shouto picked it back up. "But look here." He held it up for Yaomomo to see. "There's indentations in this paper. That means the top sheet was written on and then torn off, while leaving the traces behind on the next sheet."

Yaomomo ran her fingers over the paper. It was just slightly bumpy, as Shouto said. "If you're correct in it being a suicide, then we should find the actual note nearby."

"Let's keep looking. We'll get it eventually."

The two scoured the rest of the room with Hitoshi and Denki, but found nothing of note. Tamaki's room keys were still there, lying on top of his cabinet. The flowers actually seemed watered and roughly maintained, spare for the fact that some of the petals had been torn from their blossoms and leaves were cut at random. His spare set of clothes were in a drawer. Nothing was missing, and nothing was added.

"It's all so strange..." Denki muttered. "E-Everything... nothing's changed at all, it seems..."

"Let's go back to Nejire," Shouto said, but he was obviously bothered by the lack of evidence, glancing around the room and trailing behind Yaomomo as she strode for the bathroom. On the other hand, the Detective was determined to keep plowing forward; the autopsy _had_ to reveal something, right?

The ravenette peered around the doorframe, silver eyes graced by the sight of Tsuyu sitting with her knees tucked under her at Nejire's side. The latter was still crying profusely in front of the shower, her face buried in her hands and arms, body bent over at the middle as sobs gripped her small figure.

"H-Hey." Nejire took no notice of her as she walked in. "Nejire... um..."

"T-Tamaki..!" Nejire sobbed out her late friend's name. "Have you..?"

She looked up, removing her hands from her face. Tears were running down her flushed cheeks; her eyes were dull as she met Yaomomo's monotonous silver gaze. "Ah... Yaomomo... Y-You want to do the autopsy, r-right?"

"Yeah." Yaomomo was almost hesitant this time around to interrupt their mourning; the bluette had lost so much, seen so much, hurt so much. She didn't deserve this, didn't deserve the death of her last and only friend, her last connection to reality. She was like a lost ship at sea with a broken lighthouse, drifting farther and farther away from land; the least Yaomomo could do would be to let her grieve properly.

But no, she couldn't. Yaomomo was supposed to investigate, poke around the crime scene and unveil every truth without feeling. _I'm just cruel, aren't I?_

Cynthia's voice echoed in her mind again.

_"Thanks for... being my only friend."_

A memory of them laughing together, both still being little kids, resurfaced, and Yaomomo found herself thrown down memory lane all of again. They never verbally called each other so, but they were _friends_ in the truest form. They'd laugh together running through the garden while Cynthia's mother, the head maid at the time, pruned the hedges. They'd cry together when either accidentally hurt themselves, whether that was Yaomomo scraping her knee or Cynthia accidentally knocking over a vase in the hallway. She'd been a rather clumsy child, surprisingly.

They'd grown up together; Yaomomo recalled helping her dye her hair on Cynthia's thirteenth birthday, remembered congratulating her when she was promoted to head maid of the mansion. Cynthia, who was supposed to be the impartial maid of the family, had always favored Yaomomo without doubt, without a shred of uncertainty that what she was doing was "improper" as a true maid. She'd celebrated Yaomomo's thirteenth with a kiss on her cheek, telling Yaomomo that she was her best friend. She'd cried tears of joy when Yaomomo got the invitation to U.A.; she might've even been happier than the soon-to-be-hero herself that day.

And in the end, Yaomomo had lost her.

But at the same time, Yaomomo was different from the girl sitting on the bathroom floor before her; she was different in the sense that she still had a lighthouse. She had Fumikage telling her to forgive her with a smile on his face, despite the fact she'd just condemned him to death. She had Shouto at her side, willing to stand by her in an eternal alliance. She had all of the ghosts of the damned, the ghosts of murderers, all twirled around her finger. She was _alive,_ and Nejire wasn't.

Yaomomo would hand over her lighthouse to Nejire, if only she could.

"Hey... Yaomomo?" Tsuyu's small voice cut into her train of thought. "Hello? Yaomomo?"

The ravenette blinked and shook her head, focusing in on the scene before her: a girl with blue hair collapsed on the bathroom floor, staring at her as sobs took hold of her body and diamond droplets flooded from the broken dam that was her lifeless eyes; a girl with blue hair and a certain Tsuyu Asui standing over her.

"Ah. Sorry, Tsu." Yaomomo shuffled forward and knelt down. "I have to do the autopsy."

Nejire stared at her, a light of understanding in her tears. "O-Okay. Go ahead."

She got up on shaky feet. Tsuyu stood by, allowing her to take her hand and exit the too-small bathroom, leaving Yaomomo almost-alone in the room.

"Tamaki, Tamaki, Tamaki..." Yaomomo sighed and turned to the gruesome sight in the shower. "What to do with you..?"

The corpse was silent, of course. Even the blood had stopped flowing at this point. _So it's been a few hours, at least._ She stepped forward and knelt at the edge of the shower, eyeing up the mess.

At a glance, it was pretty clear that the Monokuma File had gone over all of the obvious injuries. There were horrible slashes crisscrossing down his arms and front, ripping clothes and soaking white sleeves a translucent pink, the cloth stuck to the skin. The wound in his head was dark and had gushed blood; trails of pink ran down Tamaki's peaceful-looking face. _He looks... so peaceful..._

She blinked, and for a split second she saw not Tamaki, but Cynthia, lying in front of her, puncture wounds hollowing out her body of blood, a smile on her face as she died, ever so sweet and loving to Yaomomo, despite the fact it was Yaomomo's own fault that she died in the first place.

Another blink, and Cynthia became Kyouka, sweet, darling Kyouka, collapsed on the floor, her guts spilling out onto the tile, mangled pink intestines tangled with the slimy sac that once was her stomach, now a deflated-looking balloon that had been mercilessly slashed by the Assassin's trusty blade. Her mismatched violet and scarlet eyes were wide with horror, wide with agony. A choked sound escaped Yaomomo's throat; she blinked again, once, twice, thrice, and suddenly she was back in the bathroom, staring at Tamaki Amajiki's dead body.

_Focus, Yaomomo,_ she chastised herself. _Focus. Come on._

Cynthia and Kyouka's haunting faces never quite left her mind, though, as she began to scan the shower walls.

The writing in blood was a mess. The letters were shaky and crooked, but she could make out quite a few of the phrases and words. "'I can't do this,'" Yaomomo read aloud, her voice nothing more than a murmur. "'Kill me.' 'It's so pretty.' 'My sunshine.' 'This shouldn't have happened.'

"'You're going to die.'"

She stared at the last message for a moment longer than the rest, before dragging her eyes away and back to Tamaki's corpse. She leaned forward to begin the autopsy.

Pulling back the slashed sleeves, the many cuts across his arms were clear. "Mmh." Inspecting the wound in his head by sticking her fingers down it, she found her pointer and index quickly buried in the disgusting slimy and slightly squishy grey matter of his brain. _This point in the skull right here is a suture... whoever was the one driving this knife must've known that._

Speaking of which, Yaomomo glanced down to the object lying by Tamaki's hand. The silver blade was covered in blood to the hilt; _likely from the head wound._ She picked it up; it was one of the kitchen knives. _Gee. The kitchen's just filled with dangerous stuff, huh?_

She set the knife down and began a body check. She was running her fingers along the outside of Tamaki's legs when the Detective's keen ears picked up the sound of crinkling paper. Shouto's words about the notepad were instantly brought to the forefront of her mind; she reached into the pocket and, wouldn't you know it, there was a crumpled piece of blood-speckled notebook paper.

She tugged it free, unfolded the thing, and began to read the tear-splattered paper, the letters shaky and smudged.

_'I have decided that I want to die._

_Goodbye._

_Thank you.'_

She scanned over the short note once, twice. It made such a clear sense, yet didn't, all at the same time.

Backing away from the corpse after a few minutes to finish the pat-down, Yaomomo pocketed the note, got up, and approached the sink. The mucus on her fingers was beginning to become nauseating, which said a lot considering the types of investigation she'd done before. Upon approaching the faucet, she found herself staring at the water droplets in the porcelain bowl. _Each one, so perfectly pristine, but capable of being washed away in an instant._

Wait.

_Water droplets?_

She blinked and stared at the sink. "It's been used recently..."

Filing the information away in her head, she turned on the sink and watched the droplets get washed away.

***

After telling Shouto about the note, him reading over it and giving pretty much the same confused reaction she gave, they only got to investigate for another few minutes before the monitor burst into life, and Monokuma's emotionless eyes were staring down at them.

_"Ahem! Please excuse the interruption! Investigation is now over. Please make your way down to the elevator ASAP! See you soon! Puhuhuhu..."_

"Eh..?" Shouto's voice was laced with panic. "He... cut investigation time short?"

"..." Yaomomo could only stare blankly up at the monitor. _What is he doing..?_

_Are they trying to actually kill us all off?_

_No, that can't be right... if they wanted to do that... they would've done that a while ago, after their mole died..._

_So what are the villains up to this time..?_

"I guess we have no choice but to go," Hitoshi drawled. "Come on."

The ragged group of six slowly began to trickle out of the dorm, downstairs and headed for the gilded elevator doors. Tsuyu dragged Nejire along by the hand; Hitoshi walked in step with Denki.

Yaomomo found herself at Shouto's side all over again, walking at his side, perfectly in tandem. _I've sometimes wondered... what drew me to him. Maybe it's because we both lost so much that we have only found solace in each other. Maybe because we're both detectives. Or maybe it goes farther back than that; maybe it's because we both came from rich families and were the top of our class, maybe it's because he was the one who supported me when I was weakest._

Whatever the reason, Yaomomo found herself at his hand in the elevator as per usual as it rumbled, forever hell-bound, deeper and deeper below the school.

"Are you ready... this time..?" Shouto's soft murmur of a voice drifted through Yaomomo's earspace, decimating the silence of the space with five simple words. The others ignored him, staring blankly at the door or now whispering among themselves upon seeing Shouto speak out.

"Mmh." Yaomomo hesitated. "I... don't know. All of this... feels so different. The strange death with no clues, the note, the shortened investigation..." _And Cynthia, and Eri, dearest Eri, and all the others who were sentenced to meaningless death because of our selfish actions, my selfish actions._ "I don't know if we'll solve this one..."

"..." A pause. Shouto regarded her with a steady stare. "It's not like you to be uncertain," he decided at last, turning away once more. "I won't tell you to be optimistic, but I won't tell you to stay down, either. Like it or not, we need you. _I_ need you, you and your calmness and passion in the trial room," he blurted out. "So, erhm... let's try our best, alright?"

"..."

A heavy pause. Silver eyes met mismatched cyan and gray.

Yaomomo allowed a ghost of a smile to tug at her lips.

"Okay."

The elevator slammed to a halt.


	47. Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 4 - Class Trial

"Puhuhu... nice to see you all again." Monokuma gave his usual greeting atop the throne as the students walked in. He was sitting in Mr. Compress's lap; the masked man was reclining cross-legged, twirling a dagger in his gloved fingers. "Get to your spots!"

"Monokuma." Shouto's voice was cold as he regarded the robotic bear. "Why did you cut investigation time short? Are you trying to kill us?"

"Nonsense, nonsense," Mr. Compress drawled. "We cut it short because you uncovered all of the evidence you had to at the scene. The note, the wals, the body. That was all, and you found it all. There's no need to waste time and dawdle around, right?"

"How do you know that was all the evidence in the room?" Yaomomo pressed.

"Because we watched the crime take place through the cameras," Monokuma replied, growing visibly agitated. "Now hurry up and start the trial! No more questions!"

_>Class Trial : Start!<_

"Let's start with the Monokuma File, as usual," Hitoshi suggested. Yaomomo nodded and complied, pulling out the tablet and opening it up.

"Alright. The victim was Tamaki. There are cuts on his body inflicted by a sharp-edged object. The weapon in question was a knife," Yaomomo said. "That's all the File provides. It's not much, but at least it's something to go off of."

"I think the most obvious thing we can add to the File would be the time of death," Shouto began. "Did anyone see him last night, before everyone turned in?"

"Uh... yeah!" Denki spoke out. "I saw him in- in the cafeteria. Hitoshi and I were getting dinner, and we ran into Tamaki exiting the kitchen. He was carrying a... a bag. We didn't speak."

"So the timeframe is during the night, all the way to this morning," Yaomomo mused. "We can work with it. And Denki, your account also provides us with one more thing-"

_>Select the correct answer:_

_Time of death_

_Motive of murder_

_Origin of weapon_

_Cause of death_

_Origin of weapon : I got it.<_

"-being the origin of the weapon. Tamaki was found exiting the kitchen with a bag. It makes sense that the kitchen knife found at the scene was retrieved by Tamaki himself."

"That's... something sounds wrong with that idea," Nejire whimpered. "Tamaki... _Tamaki_ got the knife..?"

_Yeah... something's odd here,_ Yaomomo thought. _What could Tamaki holding the weapon that wound up killing him indicate?_

_The answer's coming to me... I just have to grasp it..!_

_>Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Begin!_

_What is a possible explanation for why Tamaki got a knife from the kitchen?_

_🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆🗆<_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_>SUICIDE : I got it.<_

"Perhaps... he committed suicide," the Detective suggested, a finger to her lips.

"Eh..? Tamaki..? Sui... cide..?" Nejire's voice was filled with disbelief. Distress was clear in her recoiling posture, shoulders curling inwards, as if she were trying to cocoon herself into an illusion of a safe-place. "There's... there's no way..!"

"Calling it a... a suicide, and so soon... a-are you sure..?" Denki's voice was soft. "W-We should talk this one out..."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Kitchen Knife, Monokuma File #8, Body Discovery Announcement, Denki's Account, Tamaki's Note, Writing on the Walls<_

"Tamaki... committed suicide..?" Nejire's voice was disbelieving. "He- he'd never do that-!"

"I find it strange, too," Hitoshi murmured. "There's something wrong about the thought that Tamaki killed himself..."

"It seems reasonable to me," Shouto said. "The slashes on his arms look **self-inflicted...** and the fact he himself was responsible for his own murder weapon is suspicious."

"B-But... what if Tamaki himself **wanted to kill someone,** and that's why he got the knife?" Denki suggested. "And... someone snuck into his room, grabbed it, and killed him..?"

"Yeah! There's **no indication** that Tamaki was ever actually suicidal, either!" Nejire cried out.

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Tamaki's Note : Break!<_

"When I was doing the autopsy, I found a crumpled-up note in Tamaki's pocket," Yaomomo explained. "It read, 'I have decided that I want to die. Goodbye. Thank you.'"

"Wh... what..?" Nejire's voice was stunned. Tears cascaded down her face; her voice hitched on her next words. "T-Tamaki..."

"It's very clearly a suicide note," Shouto murmured. "I found the top piece of paper ripped off of the notepad in the room, too. That's where the paper came from- Tamaki's own room."

"B-But... Tamaki wouldn't just..!"

"The facts don't lie, Nejire," Hitoshi murmured. "The note, the knife, everything... it looks like he killed himself."

_He's right, but..._ Yaomomo frowned, pressing her lower lip with her pointer finger. _They keep talking about it, and as I think it over..._

_Why is it that the more I think... the more I think something's wrong?_

"It looks like a suicide from face value, but... what about the hole in his head?" Tsuyu inquired meekly.

"R-Right. The suture wound..." Denki muttered. "How... how does that fit into this?"

"Maybe someone showed up later and vandalized the body," Shouto offered.

"Or he inflicted that wound himself," Hitoshi added.

"Do you know how blood loss works? How the heck would he drive that knife into his own head after losing so much blood? It's clearly fatal," Yaomomo cut in, attempting to slow down the rapid-fire shooting of exchanges the students were spiraling into. It was like a gunfight; nothing gained, only damage created.

"W-Wait, what's with the sudden change in tone, Yaomomo?" Hitoshi asked, but was promptly ignored.

"But... but if someone else did it, what does th-the note imply?" Denki spoke up.

"He could've had an accomplice do the stabbing for him," Shouto pushed.

"But there's no evidence of-"

_"HOLD UP!"_

_Oh, for god's sake, not this._

_>Break!<_

"If ya'll are gonna have a split opinion, we might as well get the room in order, hm?" Monokuma giggled. "Puhuhu... it's time... for the critically acclaimed SCRUM DEBATE!"

He flicked a button and the trial chamber was gently illuminated with light, casting faces in a foggy pale-blue aurora, catching the gleam of eyes filled with hope, with desperation, with fear, with despair.

_Yaomomo thought that she'd never seen anything more beautiful._

_>Scrum Debate : Start!_

_Did Tamaki commit suicide?_

_Yes: Shouto, Hitoshi, Denki_

_No: Tsuyu, Nejire, Yaomomo<_

"The cuts on Tamaki's arms look self-inflicted," Shouto argued.

_"Nejire."_

"But... but can we _really_ be sure who **inflicted** the... the cuts?" the bluette murmured.

"It looks like Tamaki wrote on the walls with his own blood after cutting himself," Hitoshi concluded.

_"I'll do it."_

"But some of the **writing** is too high up to have been written if he were sitting down," Yaomomo pointed out.

"Tamaki could've teamed up with someone and had them vandalise the body afterwards," Shouto said.

_"Tsuyu."_

"If you're going to **team up** with someone, why not just have them kill you, too, and make it look like a suicide? You'd help your friend," she reasoned.

"There's- there's no evidence anyone else was ever there," Denki claimed.

_"Tsuyu."_

"The **evidence** you missed is that there were water droplets in the sink," the Swimmer said. "Why would Tamaki use the sink?"

"Tamaki got his own knife. Why else would he get it if not to kill himself?" Hitoshi noted.

_"I'll do it."_

"Maybe someone saw him take the **knife** and targeted him because he readily had one," she ventured. "Then, that means he originally got the knife to kill someone else."

"How would... how would a person even b-break into Tamaki's room?" Denki stammered.

_"Nejire."_

"People have gone through the vents before... It's n-not impossible to **break in,"** Nejire replied.

_>Crouch Bind : Set!<_

_>S - A - W - D<_

_>Full Counter : Break!<_

"You guys! It's very clear that this case isn't a suicide!" Yaomomo declared.

"What's with this sudden change of attitude? You brought up the suicide thing in the first place!" Hitoshi said, pointing an accusational finger at her across the circle.

The Detective sighed. "Yes, I know, but looking back on it, there's too many factors that don't line up. For starters, the wound in his head is strange. It's a clean stab to the suture on the crown of the skull; it's a fatal wound. There's no way he could have inflicted it on himself; he would've had to cut his arms and torso up first, so he'd be both extremely weakened and quickly die from blood loss. Even if he weren't injured, stabbing yourself that hard and at that angle is difficult."

"What if he just teamed up with someone, and had them mess with the body after he killed himself?" Shouto suggested.

"If you're going to be like that, then there's also the problem of the writing on the walls. It's definitely written in Tamaki's blood, which means his arms and torso were slashed first, so he must've been sitting down. If he were standing, he wouldn't have collapsed into a perfect sitting position. Some of the writing is too high up on the wall for Tamaki to reach. That means someone else must've written those things using Tamaki's blood.

"The third thing is the water droplets in the sink. Tamaki has no reason to use a sink in this situation, and so recently that we can still see water during investigation. It would make sense, however, that the killer would have to wash their hands after stabbing and slashing him up."

Shouto met her gaze evenly. "Hm. I'll respect your logic for now. Let's say that Tamaki was murdered. What now?"

"I think an important thing is the writing on the wall," Tsuyu spoke up. "It's all creepy."

"What do you mean?" Hitoshi inquired.

"Dunno." She shrugged. "But it's weird."

_She's so vague..._ Yaomomo sighed and began to think. _How is the writing on the wall weird? And how does it tie into there being a killer?_

_>Psyche Taxi : Start!<_

_..._

_>Question 1: Who wrote the messages on the walls?_  
_Left: Tamaki_  
_Middle: Both_  
_Right: The killer_  
_Right: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 2: What indicates that Tamaki never wrote anything?_  
_Left: His posture_  
_Middle: His hands_  
_Right: His wounds_  
_Middle: Correct!<_

_..._

_>Question 3: Was there a third person involved?_  
_Left: No_  
_Right: Yes_  
_Left: Correct!<_

_>Success!_  
_Question 1: The killer_  
_Question 2: His hands_  
_Question 3: No<_

_>Break!<_

"She's right," Yaomomo cut into the useless suggestions and bickering ringing through the trial room, effectively silencing everyone. "The writing on the walls shows us a few things."

"Mmh? We know it proves there was a killer, since Tamaki couldn't have written the higher notes-" Shouto began.

"No, it proves that he didn't write _any_ of those notes," Yaomomo interrupted. "Ah, sorry..."

"No, go on."

"Well, if he'd written with blood, there'd be blood on his finger. Looking at both of his hands, there's no blood other than the dripping trail from his arm wounds," the Detective explained. "Also, all of the handwriting of the messages seems to be the same, so there were only two people involved. Tamaki and his killer."

"B-But... some of the messages... sound like they were written by- by him," Nejire whimpered. Yaomomo watched her sympathetically; it was as if the words written in blood were broken pieces of a porcelain doll, her only friend, and she was clutching the shards even as they dug deep gashes into her pale palms and her blood poured onto the floor- she was clinging to a fairytale that might have been him, in another timeline, perhaps, but meant nothing in the face of theirs. "Like... 'My sunshine'... Tamaki always called Mirio his sunshine..!"

"I'm sorry, Nejire." Yaomomo tried her best to muster warmth into her voice; _it was beginning to grow tiring, sounding so strong, so clever as well as now likable._ "But the writing doesn't lie."

_What's the other piece of evidence that solidifies the fact that Tamaki didn't write on the walls?_

_>Select a Truth Bullet.<_

_..._

_>Tamaki's Note : I got it.<_

"Remember the note Tamaki wrote, as well as anything else he may have written that you saw," the ravenette said. "Comparing the handwriting of the two... there's a clear difference. For example, their y's are written differently. Tamaki loops the tail of his 'y' in 'Goodbye', while the 'y' in 'My sunshine' has a straight tail. Two different people wrote these things, and since the evidence in Tamaki's fingers and the height of the phrases up the wall point to the killer writing on the wall, Tamaki himself wrote the farewell note." Yaomomo lowered her voice; she wouldn't have been heard if the trial room hadn't been dead silent. "Those are the final words you're looking for, Nejire."

The bluette stared at her for a moment, before turning away silently and staring at her feet, her arms wrapped around her fragile chest and shoulders, a waterfall of blue cascading around her; she was a perfect, ever so _blue_ persona. The epitome of grief, of pain, of loss and self-blame and sadness.

_Oh, how agonizingly beautiful she is._

_How pleasant it must be, to simply be sad with nobody telling you to lift your head._

"S-So... The killer wrote the notes on the wall, while Tamaki wrote his own note," Tsuyu clarified. "The killer... seems like a nice person."

"Yeah... phrases like 'Kill me' and 'This never should've happened' make it seem as if the killer regretted killing him the moment he finished completing the act," Shouto affirmed. "Unless, of course, they were trying to make it look like suicide messages and messed up."

"On the other hand, Tamaki's note seems to be authentic," Hitoshi murmured. "If that's really his handwriting, then..."

"What if... wh-what if the killer forced him to write it?" Nejire mumbled, her eyes bleak as she glanced up.

"If Tamaki were forced into writing a suicide note, I think he'd at least try to slip something in," Shouto decided. "However, there's nothing odd with the note we found in his pocket, and if the killer had taken Tamaki's original note and forged another, the appearance of teardrops on the paper doesn't make sense," He paused. "So... I think we can assume the note is authentic."

"None of this... makes any sense," Denki murmured. "He was m-murdered, but there was a- a suicide note in his pocket? And- and that's not to mention the kn-knife..!"

"These two factors together could only come to one logical conclusion," Yaomomo replied, twirling a strand of black hair around her finger. "And that is..."

_>Select the correct answer:_

_Tamaki knew he was going to be murdered_

_Tamaki and the murderer were working together_

_Tamaki committed suicide after all_

_Tamaki and the murderer were working together : I got it.<_

"...that Tamaki and the blackened were working together."

"Tamaki... and the blackened..?" Nejire's voice was small; weak. "How..?"

"It's clear, isn't it?" Hitoshi prompted. "Tamaki created a plot that involved having someone else kill him and making it _look_ like a suicide. Or, maybe, he didn't intend for them to do anything with the body after making the suture wound, except they went crazy on it anyway. Or maybe-"

"Hush." Yaomomo was watching Nejire; the bluette was beginning to tear up again, listening to Hitoshi reel off possible ways Tamaki insinuated his own death. "Whatever the case, all we have to do now is figure out who Tamaki teamed up with."

"Something tells me this is going to be a lot harder than it sounds," Tsuyu muttered.

"Tsu's right. Perhaps the question we should be asking is who Tamaki would _bother_ teaming up with. The guy seemed... to put it simply, _shut in_ before his death, no offense," Shouto said, mismatched eyes flitting to Nejire for a moment before fixating on the floor. "So... which of us would he single out?"

"Someone as despairful as he was, maybe?" Hitoshi suggested.

"S-Someone... someone weak..?" Denki prompted.

"Someone he... trusted?" Nejire asked meekly.

Yaomomo turned to her. "That's it."

"What? Wh-What's it?" Cloudy cerulean eyes met a steady pair of silver ones.

"Tamaki would surely team up with someone he trusted, right? Especially in a scenario like this, where he had to trust in his accomplice to cooperate with him and carry out the plan correctly after he died and could no longer pull the strings," Yaomomo declared. "In that case... the one most suspicious would be you, Nejire..!"

A tense silence fell upon the chamber. "Wh... why me?" Nejire whimpered, her arms still wrapped around herself. "Why?"

"You were his closest friend." _Other than Mirio,_ Yaomomo thought, but she left that part unsaid. "You still are; even if he tried to push you away, it was clear he still cared more about you than anyone else."

"Yaomomo, this is ridiculous!" Shouto interjected. "We can't just go blindly accusing people with no rhyme or reason!"

"But is there any evidence left to go off of?" The Theorist shut his mouth on that one. Yaomomo sighed, brushing her ponytail back. "We can't do anything but look through our selection of suspects and determine who's the most likely."

"Come on, surely there's got to be somethi-"

"Let's look through all the evidence again, then," Yaomomo relented, exasperated. "Then you'll see there's nothing left to do."

_>Non-stop Debate : Start!_

_Truth Bullets: Yaomomo's Autopsy, Sink, Writing on the Walls, Denki's Account, Tamaki's Note<_

"There has to be something left to dissect," The two-tone-haired boy insisted. "We just have to think! Blindly suspecting won't get us anywhere!"

"So what do you propose?" Hitoshi inquired.

"Well, the height of the words on the wall, for one," Shouto stated. "It's obvious the suspect didn't step into the shower, since the water was never turned on in there and there were **no footprints** anywhere."

"Th-That would mean... the suspect had to lean over to write," Denki murmured. "So if you were too short, it w-wouldn't work out..!"

"But... it's not like we can go back and measure that out," Tsuyu retorted.

"But at the very least, the reasoning puts you out of jeopardy, Tsu," Hitoshi pointed out. "Some of that writing was definitely too high up for you to reasonably write."

"But that's just abstract envisioning, which is pretty much what I was doing, not solid evidence," Yaomomo cut in. "Give me something definitive here, or we can start mapping out everyone as suspects."

"Oh, well..." Shouto paused. "Perhaps... did anyone see Tamaki hanging around with someone recently?"

"N-No..." Nejire's voice quivered. "He's... he's always shut in his room..!"

"So when would he have come out **without people seeing** him?" Tsuyu muttered.

_"No, that's wrong."_

_>Denki's Account : Break!<_

"Tamaki did come out of his room, and he didn't do it alone," Yaomomo explained. "Denki and Hitoshi running into him in the cafeteria is an example of that. It doesn't seem like he's sneaking around; rather, it's more of a problem that most of us shut ourselves in after the Ultimate Punishment. Trying to pull out eyewitness accounts isn't going to work. None of us have seen anything," she concluded. "Our best bet is to go through our own ranks and pick out who's the most suspicious."

"..." Shouto was silent. He looked like he wanted to protest the Detective's skewed way of determining the blackened, but he didn't voice it. "Fine. I can't think of anything else, so I'll leave it to you. I trust you, Yaomomo." He lowered his voice. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Of course." Yaomomo brushed herself off and returned to what she was saying before. "As I was stating, our goal here is to determine who here Tamaki would most likely work with, or _can_ work with. Of course..." She turned to Nejire, who was gazing at her with an anxious expression. "That makes Nejire our prime candidate."

"B-But- how could you suspect Nejire?!" Tsuyu wailed. "She'd never- she would never do this!"

"Yeah... yeah, that's right!" The bluette herself clenched her hands over her chest. "I couldn't possibly have k-killed... Tamaki..!"

"You were his closest friend."

"No! I wasn't!" Nejire cried out. "Why can't you see that there's no way Tamaki would've asked me to help- help him?! I've got to convince you of the truth!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Nejire's Audio Clips <> Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1 : Start!<_

"Yaomomo, what are you thinking-?!" <> (W) (A) (W)

"Tamaki, working with me..?" <> (S) (D) (S)

"He would never..!" <> (W-A-S-D)

"A-After Mirio... we've only been getting farther apart..." <> (W) (A) (S) (D) (S)

"He even shut me out when I- when I tried to help him..." <> (D) (A) (W) (S) (W) (S)

"There's no way he'd ask me for help!" <> (A) (A) (A)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

"P-Please... stop..!" <> (A) (D)

"All my life... all of my life..!" <> (W) (S)

"I've only ever wanted... to save people..!" <> (D) (A) (W) (S)

"I just wanted to be a hero..." <> (S) (D) (S)

"...to save everyone..." <> (W-A-S-D)

"So please..." <> (S) (A - hold)

"Don't... don't think I would kill Tamaki..!" <> (S) (S) (W) (D)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

"Please, stop!" <> (W) (W)

"You don't know anything about me..!" <> (D) (D - Hold) (A - Hold) (S)

"I've always thought you were smart..." <> (W-A-S-D)

"I've always thought you were so kind and caring..!" <> (W-A-S-D)

"So, please! Stop blindly suspecting us!" <> (A) (A - Hold) (S)

"Stop suspecting me just because I was a member of the Big Three!" <> (S) (S) (S) (A) (A) (W - Hold)

"I'm not the killer!" <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Final Blow!<_  
_>W = Publically_  
_A = Secretly_  
_S = Distant,_

_D = Plotting<_

"Tamaki has been acting distant to me ever since- ever since Mirio's death!"

_"But what if?"_

_>W-S-A-D : PublicallyDistant,SecretlyPlotting : Break!<_

"However, for all that you're arguing, what if you're lying, Nejire?" Yaomomo accused. "What if you and Tamaki were just acting distant to fool the rest of us, when in actuality you were still working together? You care for him greatly." She softened her voice. "I know you do. You care enough for him that you'd work with him, if he so wanted you to."

"Even then, I would never help Tamaki _kill_ himself!" the Beauty Pageant Star screamed. "I would never hurt him, even if he wanted to be hurt! That's how much I loved him!" Tears cascaded down her face again, and her voice was beginning to crack and grow raw from yelling. "He was one of my best friends, even if he always loved Mirio more than me... and while I may not have loved him like Mirio did, I loved Tamaki Amajiki! I- I really did!" She was crying now, her voice dying and her words getting choked in her throat.

And yet, she didn't sob, didn't break down like all the times before in the trials, overcome by grief and misery. She simply stood there, hands clenched in fists at her sides, teardrops streaming silently down her blotchy face.

Yaomomo met her gaze evenly. "If you're lying, you're very good at it."

"Yaomomo, why are you being so mean?" Tsuyu suddenly piped up. "Nejire is innocent. You heard her. She cared for Tamaki, and I can tell you it's true." She cocked her head. "We proved I was innocent because I'm tiny, right? So you should trust me."

"True..." Yaomomo left her doubts in Tsuyu's perspective go unsaid. _What if her admiration for Nejire is clouding her better judgement?_

The Swimmer shook her head, dark green tresses swirling in a wave around her. "Whatever. Suspect her, suspect all of us all you want. Use your own head and help us out, okay?"

"Ahem." Hitoshi cut into the discussion. "If I may make a suggestion, I'd like to see what your opinions on Shouto are."

"H-Huh?" Yaomomo blinked, momentarily confused. Her ears reddened. "Um-"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that." Hitoshi huffed, averting his gaze. "I meant, don't you think he's been suspicious, too?"

"H-Hey! Where is this coming from?" The Theorist himself cried out in alarm. Yaomomo felt something twist in her stomach. "What have I done?"

"Well, you were the one who insisted we all go find Tamaki in the first place," Hitoshi pointed out. "A convenient hunch, finding a body in the process."

"Like I've said before, it was just a hunch," Shouto insisted, his expression hardening. "I felt like something was wrong. Most of us hadn't seen each other for days. It's only right to be a little paranoid, a little worried, right?"

"But I must agree with Hitoshi... it does seem a little suspicious." All heads snapped around to stare at Yaomomo, who'd spoken out against her companion's favor. Shouto's mismatched eyes widened; he gazed at her, incredulous. "Rather convenient, guiding us to the body," she continued, her eyes fixed to the floor. She couldn't possibly meet Shouto's eyes.

"Yaomomo... you can't mean that." The taller's voice was hushed. "I..."

"You know I'm right, though, don't you?" She didn't want to do this, honesetly, but Hitoshi had brought up such a valid point that it now took up all of her mind and more. "You led us straight to a dead body."

"I... You're right." Shouto sighed, and Yaomomo looked up to find herself trapped in a pair of silver and cyan jewels. "You have a right to be suspicious of me. I _did_ lead everyone to the body, whether unintentional or not."

"I don't want to, but... give me your story, your account," Yaomomo pushed, trying not to think too hard. For some reason, whenever she tried to imagine Shouto killing Tamaki, it left a bitter taste in her mouth and a ringing in her ears. She couldn't possibly see him doing something so cruel, so despairful, especially after Izuku.

_Izuku._ The thought of them together was making her head spin, too. She shook herself off and clenched her sweating hands into fists. "Do your worst," she murmured.

"Alright." Shouto tugged at his coattails, straightening out his outfit. "If you so insist that I'm suspicious, I'll try my best to prove you wrong."

_>Rebuttal Showdown : Start!_

_Shouto Todoroki : Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Truth Blades: Tamaki's Note, Yaomomo's Autopsy, Nejire's Account, Body Discovery Announcement<_

"Like I said earlier, I went hunting for everyone off of a hunch I had that something was off," Shouto explained. "Paranoia, I think; I hadn't seen **most of you in days,** so one is bound to assume the worst. I found you in the library, Yaomomo. From there, we went to every room to check up on our classmates. You know the rest."

"But I don't," the Detective muttered. "How can I trust all that you're saying from your perspective is true? You found a _body_ off of a _hunch._ It sounds incredibly suspicious, wouldn't you agree?"

"That's true," he admitted. "However, there's another factor that puts me out of the running," he continued. "I **helped to initiate** the body discovery announcement, so therefore, I cannot be the blackened."

_"I will cut through your words."_

_>Body Discovery Announcement : Cut!<_

"You can't be certain you helped trigger the announcement," Yaomomo declared. "Nejire, Tsu, you, and I were present at the scene when the announcement went off. Only three people are needed to set it off, so one of us could've been the blackened, and it would still work."

_Blackened._ Her fingers tingled. The word seemed so impure, and the very notion that she'd been standing so close to Tamaki's killer was unnerving.

"Okay, so maybe that was a bit of poor reasoning on my part." Shouto tried to smooth over his mistake. "But I also have no motivation to kill. What would I kill for? And why would I listen to a suicidal maniac, if we're being blunt here? I would never work with Tamaki. Besides, if I were the killer, it seems rather unwise to lead you all to a fresh body. It'd make more sense to let the body lay there and rot, which would hide evidence."

"Ah... th-that... makes a lot of sense, actually," Denki commented. "Why would the blackened themself lead us to their victim? It makes... it makes them more suspicious, and h-helps us, not them."

"Precisely so." A small smile slipped onto his face. "How about it? Still suspect me now?"

"Mmh..." Yaomomo stalled for a moment. "You could just be using reverse psychology, though. You're insisting you couldn't have been the killer because of this logic, when in actuality you could be the killer and done that to create this logic in the first place."

"That's cold."

"But you have good points... and so did Nejire." Yaomomo pursed her lips, but when she met Shouto's eyes, she could tell he was relaxed. "We can't exactly rule out anyone for certain yet except Tsu, because she's too short, which is physical evidence."

"S-Speaking of which... if we're still in the business of suspecting... how about Hitoshi..?" Nejire suddenly spoke out. She wasn't crying anymore; instead, there was a sharpness in her expression, in her eyes, one of determined, crooked righteousness. "He's been locked up in a closet for the past few days, right?"

"How'd you know that?" Hitoshi's voice was cold.

"Well... one night, Tsu went to get drinks for us while I was s-sleeping," the bluette said. "She said... she said you were in a closet, digging through a box, a-and muttering to yourself."

"That's..!" The violette's eyes widened, and his face flushed in embarrassment at being called out. "Sorry... I couldn't help it, honestly. I swear, I wasn't working for Tamaki!"

"But it _is_ still odd, right?" Yaomomo murmured. "Why were you in that closet, Hitoshi? What were you doing?"

"Do you really believe I killed Tamaki, Miss Yaoyorozu?" Hitoshi's voice was cold. "Incredible, how despair has twisted our lovely Detective. I'll show you what's right! I can prove I'm innocent!"

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Hitoshi's Audio Clips : Letters to Counter}_

_>Phase 1 : Start!<_

"Come on, Yaomomo." <> (W - Hold) (W - Hold)

"I'll explain myself, and when everything becomes clear..." <> (A - Hold) (A) (D) (A - Hold)

"...promise me you'll quit this bullshit, okay?" <> (S) (S) (W - Hold)

"Suspecting everyone blindly..." <> (W) (D) (S - Hold)

"Wouldn't it make more sense to use reasoning, as you did before..." <> (S) (A) (W) (D) (S - Hold)

"...in order to find the killer?" <> (D) (A) (S - Hold)

"Has Cynthia's death finally driven you over the edge?" <> (W) (W) (S) (D) (A) (W - Hold)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

"Allow me to explain myself." <> (S) (S) (W - Hold)

"I was digging through the closet..." <> (A) (A) (D - Hold)

"...because I was trying to find any dangerous objects." <> (W) (A) (S) (W) (D) (S)

"After Hizashi... after Hizashi died..." <> (S - Hold) (W) (W - Hold)

"I wanted... to make sure that none of you would get hurt unnecessarily as well." <> (D) (S) (A) (D) (W) (A) (S - Hold)

"Th-That's respectable, right?" <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

"You're still pushing?" <> (W) (W) (W - Hold)

"Of course... I look mighty suspicious, don't I?" <> (A) (D) (A) (D - Hold)

"I'm sorry... I couldn't help it." <> (S) (W) (S)

"I didn't want to act strangely..." <> (A) (W) (A)

"But when I tried to just stay in my room..." <> (D) (A) (W) (S) (W - Hold)

"...it made me feel so horrible that I couldn't resist temptation." <> (A) (D) (S) (W) (S - Hold)

"I know that... that Hizashi and Eri's deaths have hurt me, hurt all of us." <> (A) (A) (D) (W) (S) (W)

"But please... Hizashi would never have wanted me to do this." <> (A) (D) (A) (S) (W)

"Eri wouldn't have wanted this, either." <> (W-A-S-D)

"So, please... stop!" <> (W-A-S-D)

"I'm not the killer!" <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Final Blow!<_  
_>W = Finding_  
_A = Tamaki_  
_S = For_

_D = Weapons<_

"I was just trying to protect everyone... th-that's all!"

_"But what if..?"_

_>W-D-S-A : FindingWeaponsForTamaki : Break!<_

"Your argument is all over the place," Yaomomo stated bluntly.

"H-Hey!" Hitoshi averted his eyes. "I have a point though, don't I?! I'm not some debater like you, Miss Detective."

"You bring up nice points, but those same points can be used against you," she continued. "You were looking for weapons in the closet- you say that it was to protect us, but what if you were just looking for a weapon for Tamaki? Secondly, the despair caused by your father and sister's death and capture respectively is also surely enough to drive anyone crazy."

_I mean, it did for me._

_I miss you, Kyouka, Cynthia._

_Wildly suspecting all my friends... You two wouldn't like that, would you?_

_...I'm sorry._

"Tamaki could easily manipulate that despair and get you to work with him," the ravenette finished.

"Can't you just believe my word?" Hitoshi hissed. "I just... I just want you to stop jumping from person to person, blindly calling them out one after the other with no basis other than the fact that one of us definitely did it."

"Someone could always be lying. We must consider all the options." Yaomomo couldn't meet his indigo glare. "Let's move on, already. We've heard what you've had to say, so what next?"

"I think Denki is a little interesting," Tsuyu noted, going along with Yaomomo's suggestion. "He accompliced- hm, accompliced, is that a word?" She paused, tapping her pointer finger against her lower lip. She seemed lost in thought, all of a sudden.

"Ahem. As you were saying?" Hitoshi's voice made her jump and blink. She seemed momentarily dazed, before picking up right where she left off.

"Ah. Right. Um, Denki was Mezou's partner in crime, so there's something to consider," the viridian-haired girl said. Her gaze was emotionless as she looked at him. "That's just what I think."

"W-Wait! I wouldn't- I wouldn't be another accomplice, not after- after that!" Denki seemed horrified; his eyes were wide _-was that fear Yaomomo could see?-_ and his hands clasped together in front of his stomach. His shoulders pulled inward, as if he were trying to collapse into himself and escape from the atmosphere of the trial room. "I- I wouldn't! I wouldn't, I wouldn't I _WOULDN'T!"_

He wrapped his arms around himself; he was shaking, and tears were beginning to overflow from his dilated, unseeing eyes. "D-Denki? Denki, are you okay..?!" Even Hitoshi's cries of concern didn't snap him out of it. The blonde merely stood there, shaking and holding onto himself, as if attempting to ground himself as he began to swiftly unwind.

"Y-Y-You're all idiots! IDIOTS! M-Mezou- Mezou abused me! He forced me into it!" Denki was screaming now, the words torn from his lips as he began to cry. "I- I-!" Whatever he was going to say seemed to have been stuck in his throat, as he abruptly cut himself off and looked down, shuddering like a leaf in the wind. He was bent over, his eyes fixed to his shoes. Tears slipped down his nose and fell to the floor.

"Leave him alone," Hitoshi muttered before deserting his podium, hurrying over to his friend's side. "Hey. Hey, Denki?" He reached out to place a reassuring hand on the smaller's back, but Denki abruptly jumped and jolted away at the touch. "O-Oh. Okay. I'll just stand there, then, okay? I'm here. Shh. It's okay." The violette continued to murmur hushed phrases of comfort to the Electrician.

"Well... while they're doing that..." Shouto looked away from the scene and turned back to Yaomomo. "There was something I was thinking about after that last trial."

"Go ahead." Yaomomo ripped her own gaze away from Denki and fixated on the Theorist, instead.

"Denki helped Mezou during the trial by pushing blame onto Tamaki, right? Saying he triggered the announcement, giving Tamaki the chance to be the killer, all that," Shouto began. "If you look at it differently, though, _technically_ he was also helped Tamaki. Also, when Tamaki was initially accused of being the blackened by poisoning Mirio with his drink, Denki jumped to defend him. Remember that?"

_~*Flashback*~_

_A beat of silence followed the short girl's words. Denki turned to the Florist in question, who stood stiffly, shadowed gaze fixed to the floor. "H-Hey, Tamaki... it's okay! She- she's got to be mistaken..!"_

_"It's okay, Denki."_

_"Wh-What..?"_

_"It's okay, Denki." Tamaki looked up, tears like crystals gleaming in his eyes. He turned away from the Electrician to address the room as a whole. "I'm sorry for lying earlier. You can stop now."_

_~*Back to Present*~_

"Ah... I do think I recall that." Yaomomo tapped her chin. "So you're saying... that Denki worked not only with Mezou, but also Tamaki?"

"Precisely so." Shouto turned back to Hitoshi and Denki at the podium. "Of course, we can only ever get confirmation from Denki himself. Let's wait a minute."

"The lot of you are insufferable," Hitoshi hissed, turning away from his friend. Denki wasn't shaking anymore; instead, he was wiping the tears from his face. "You're _still_ going on and suspecting people while they're having a fucking _panic attack?"_ His expression was one of hatred, of fury. "You're all fucking _sick._ You make _me_ sick, ALL OF YOU! You're all fucking _disgusting!"_

"Th-That's... that's enough, Hitoshi..." Denki's voice was small and raspy, but he appeared coherent. He lifted his head; there were tearstains on his blotchy face, but his eyes gleamed. "I... I don't want you all to suspect me... on terms that were out of my control..!"

"What do you mean..?" Yaomomo tried not to look at Hitoshi, instead focusing on the electric blonde.

_What hurts the most is that he's right._

"E-Exactly! You don't- you don't even know the whole picture!" Denki's voice was strained. "Why should I tell y-you all what I actually w-went through when all you want- want to do is suspect me?!"

"Because unless you want to be suspected, it would be ideal to give your account." Tsuyu was unphased by his and Hitoshi's ranting. "Spill it."

"W-Well..." The girl's tone seemed to have unnerved him. Denki stared at his feet again. "Tamaki- Tamaki forced me into working with him! Just like M-Mezou... I didn't want to! But I did it anyway!"

"Why? Why would you accomplice them if you didn't want to?" Tsuyu was bluntly leading the questioning, her expression blank as words without a hint of empathy spilled over her tongue.

"I was scared, okay?!" Denki's voice was rising, Hitoshi's expression softened as he returned his attention to his companion, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I was... I was so scared!"

"Why? Denki... what did they do to you?" Yaomomo kept her voice gentle, lest Hitoshi turn to her with detest clear in his eyes again. He did anyway. "No, seriously. How did they hurt you to get like this?" There was something bitter twisting in her stomach, something vile on her tongue. She couldn't see the old Denki in this tortured soul anymore; she couldn't find the enthusiastic, happy boy who just wanted to electrocute his enemies and have fun, the boy who wanted to be a hero- no, not even that- to be a _kid_ enjoying his life. Something had happened- something more than just Kyouka and Mashirao's deaths, something more horrific than even that.

"I... Mezou... h-he..." Denki gulped, and his arms tensed around himself. "He cornered me... in a closet... he threatened me... he t-touched... my eye... it burned..!" He began shaking again, blinking sporadically and rapidly. He rubbed his left eye violently. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so bad-!"

"D-Denki!" Hitoshi gently took his wrist, tugging his hand away from his eye. "Denki, it's okay. Mezou's _dead._ It's just me, Hitoshi." The Electrician looked up, turned to stare at the violette for a moment. His left eye had started watering from how harshly he'd been rubbing it. "It's okay. We're going to be okay."

The Psychic reached up and placed a hand on Denki's face, cupping his chin in his palm. "No more pain, okay? Let's get through this together." His voice was gentle, oh so _gentle_ and filled with love. Yaomomo looked away; it seemed too intimate a moment to watch. She dragged her eyes around the circle instead; Nejire was crying, Tsuyu seemingly confused, and Shouto was gazing at the floor. Yaomomo tried not to study the curve of his face too hard.

In her peripheral, she saw Denki reach up and place one shaky hand over Hitoshi's. "Yeah," she heard him mumble. "Alright, Hitoshi."

The violette smiled and pulled back. He turned back to the other students, and Yaomomo's attention immediately snapped to him. Denki was looking out, too. "Now do you understand him?" Hitoshi's voice was still as soft as it was before. "Mezou abused him into working with him, and Tamaki picked him up while he was still reeling. It shouldn't be too tough to understand human emotion." He fixed a certain ravenette with a glare, and his face and voice both turned flint-sharp once more. "So, is that good enough for you, Miss Detective? Still think we're suspicious?"

"..." Yaomomo couldn't say anything without upsetting someone- either herself or Hitoshi and Denki. She couldn't trust anyone fully; nobody was truly out of the clear. There was no evidence other than their own words, which could be twisted this way and that and still seem as authentic as the truth. However, she couldn't do anything but speak sweet words. "I suppose... nobody is truly _not_ suspicious, but I must say... I can't imagine it being either of you, truly."

**Is that the truth, Momo? Or is it lies?**

**Do you even know anymore, Yaomomo?**

_The line's blurring..._

_Who's lying? Who's not? I can't tell._

Anyone could have been Tamaki's accomplice, _anyone_ could've killed him.

There was nothing.

Absolutely nothing but words.

_Words._

Words could be as powerful as a bullet, as a blade, as a punch. Yaomomo knew that firsthand.

So why was she at a loss for them, at now of all times?

Why was her head _empty?_

She couldn't think of anything but that horrid scene of Tamaki lying in the shower, surrounded by words written in blood by a fingertip, pink liquid running down his face, gashes covering his arms and torso, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

One blink, and it was Kyouka.

Another, and it was Cynthia.

Another, and it was back to Tamaki.

Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.

"Yaomomo? What should we do now?"

Shouto's voice barely brushed the void surrounding her.

Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.

The blood kept spreading.

_But wasn't it supposed to be dry?_

Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.

Yaomomo couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

It was just the ever-growing, flashing image of Tamaki sitting in the shower, blood running down his face, staining his hair, his clothes, the tile floor.

Shutting her eyes couldn't do anything anymore. It was engraved in the back of her eyelids, burning through her eye sockets and scorching her brain itself, tickling the void and coaxing out a handful of snapshots, like photos, worn and tea-stained polaroids.

She couldn't get it _out of her head out of her sight out of her very being_ and she was drowning in it.

_blinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkYaomomoareyouokay?blinkblinkblinkblinkblink_ **It was always Tamaki** _blinkblinkYaomomoblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkYaomomowhat'swrong?blinkblinkblink_

Blink. There was suddenly a blurry vision of a knife in his head.

Blink. It was replaced by the image of a silver blade slicing open his skin.

Blink, and it was a vision of blood all over a pale, slender-fingered hand, fingers gripping the blood-speckled handle so tight the knuckles were turning white. Everything was in full detail, illuminated under the golden glow of the bathroom lights.

It was all crystal clear.

_What?_

Blink, and she was trapped in a still shot of his face, the hallway lights reflecting off of his hair. Dark navy eyes, dull yet so deep with untold thoughts and wicked planning, pierced her through the flickering picture in her bloody fingers.

It crumbled into dust, and she was stuck in shadow once more, alone with just her and the voices telling her stories of things she couldn't remember, stories where she was the main character.

Kyouka and Cynthia giggled and laughed, as if they were doing nothing more than exchanging gossip with her over a cup of tea.

**It was always just Tamaki**

**and you.**


	48. Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 5 - Class Trial

"Yaomomo? Yaomomo, what's wrong?!"

In a flash, Yaomomo was suddenly back to standing in the trial room. The chandelier above her head cast an all-too-bright glow over her, over the floor she was staring at with its pristine, shiny, monochrome tiles; everything was too bright, too loud, really. Shouto was at her side, shaking her gently by the shoulder. She had hunched over her podium railing at some point, her hands over her head.

_What... did I just..?_

**It was always just Tamaki and you, Momo. Just him and you and a knife and a note.**

Oh, god, the voice was back.

"Cynthia..?" the Detective murmured, her voice shaky and strained in her throat.

"Yaomomo, what are you talking about?! Snap out of it..!" Shouto had one warm, steady hand on her shoulder. "Hey, talk to us here!"

"Y-Yaomomo... what are you doing?" That would be Tsuyu's voice to her left.

"I... I'm sorry..." The ravenette shivered as she stood up straight. Tsuyu was hovering awkwardly near her, intrigued by the scene but unable to fully empathize with it. Shouto was at her side, his hand having fallen from her shoulder. He was wearing a concerned expression. She tried to ignore them, instead scanning the few out in the circle.

Nejire was leaning over her podium, watching her with worry clear in her tense features. Denki was staring at his feet, arms still wrapped tight around his own torso. Hitoshi, having drifted back to his podium, met her gaze, expectant and slightly confused. "I-It's okay," Nejire spoke out. "We all... we all crack under stress sometimes, especially in these types of situations. It's fi-"

"No- no, that's not why I'm apologizing!" Yaomomo couldn't land her eyes on any one thing in the room, instead allowing them to dart from person to person, object to object, before she simply settled on closing her eyes and dipping her head. The image of Tamaki's dead body, wounds still dripping, flashed into her head again, but she tried to ignore it.

"Then... then what is this for?" Denki's words were meek; anxious. "What could you p-possibly be... _sorry_ for?"

"I'm sorry I've lied to all of you." Yaomomo exhaled softly. "Sorry I dragged you all on a roundabout trip of suspicion."

"Y-Yaomomo! What are you saying?" Shouto sounded like he wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. "You can't mean-?!"

"I killed Tamaki."

A tense silence immediately fell over the trial room at those three words. Yaomomo opened her eyes, allowing the sight of her clutching a kitchen knife soaked to the hilt in hot pink blood to slip away from the forefront of her mind.

Everyone was staring at her, as to be expected. Nejire was stiff as a board, and Denki's golden eyes were wide. Hitoshi's face was contorted in confusion, Shouto's in distress; Tsuyu was unreadable, a perfect poker face, whether intentional or unintentional on her part.

"Yaomomo..?" The Swimmer snapped the quiet atmosphere like a twig. "What do you mean..?"

"I killed Tamaki Amajiki. What is there to understand? I killed him. I definitely did..!" The images were pouring into her head now, like polaroids raining on her in a downpour, flooding her with colors and scents and sounds and sensations she instantly despised.

**Look here, Yaomomo!** Kyouka. That was her voice. In her mind's eye, in the void where photos -snapshots of an adventure- floated around her and filled her mind with memories she'd tried to throw away, the Musician was standing in front of her. Yaomomo couldn't make out any of her features; trying to find them only made her disappear. The violette was perpetually trapped in her peripheral. Kyouka had snatched a polaroid from the storm and was brandishing it in Yaomomo's face. **It's Tamaki's note!**

Sure enough, the image she bore was of Tamaki leaning over his desk, scrawling something into the notebook. His hand shook terribly; tears slipped down his face and landed on the paper, blurring the edges of some of the words. _What is this..?_

**You stood over him and watched him write that, my dear.** Cynthia was suddenly on her other side, her voice tickling Yaomomo's ear. **Beckoned into his room. You were already clutching the knife behind your back at that point. Ever so enthusiastic, even in murder, are we?**

**Here, here! Here's another.** Kyouka had snatched another photo and shoved it in her hands, forcing her to drop the first to the ground in an ever-growing pile. Yaomomo stared at it. **This one's important.**

There was a pale hand gripping the handle of a knife. It was driven to the hilt in Tamaki's head. Blood sprayed in an arc from the freshly inflicted wound, splattering the killer's skin with pink.

The photo suddenly began to distort, printed pixels melting into each other and dripping through her fingers. **Oh, a shame.** Cynthia tutted. **This was when your brain kind of shut down. That is why you can't remember anything. Do not fret, though, my darling.** There was a quiet laugh, and then another handful of polaroid prints thrown over her shoulder into her hands. Yaomomo tried to catch them, although the majority fell through her fingers in her haste. **Your eyes, your ears, your senses; they record all. We are merely here to help you recover everything.**

Within the mindscape, Yaomomo shook her head, looked from side to side. She was alone in the darkness; even Kyouka and Cynthia were silent now. She turned down to the jumble of photographs in her hands, eyes wide with fear.

Blink. A picture of a knife slashing Tamaki's arms, the same pale, slim, blood-splattered hand gripping the handle.

Blink. The knife was on the floor, lying by Tamaki's hand. It was a simple shot of Tamaki's corpse; a pause where she had simply stepped back and looked over her work.

Blink. Her finger was against the wall, coated in pink, dragging against the tiles, painting words of regret and delusions.

Blink. She was standing before the sink, washing the blood from her arms and hands.

Blink. The photos tumbled from her cold hands and landed at her feet, absorbing into the walls of the cell she was trapped in, absorbing into her mind.

She was lost in her own brain, and she was alone.

It had all happened, all of the memories her brain had attempted to lock away flooding through the broken dam, in a matter of seconds. It had felt like hours, taking in all of the moments of a lost evening in a rush that left her dizzy.

A photo album was shoved in her numb hands. **Alright! Let's put the pictures together in order, Yaomomo!** She flipped the book open, and Kyouka handed her a photograph from next to the ravenette's place kneeling on the open ground.

_>Closing Argument : Begin!<_

"It's coming back to me..." The words slipped from Yaomomo's corporeal lips. Her silver eyes were blank, still lost in the scene within her skull, trapped in a birdcage with nothing but photos and two voices. "I... I think... my mind cut out the event before, but... something must've triggered the memory to return."

"Convenient." Hitoshi's speech brushed her ears, unable to fully register with her reeling brain. There was a tone of horror in his tone, though, betraying the fact that he believed every word she was saying. "Go on. What crucial evidence have you remembered for us?"

"It was... It must've been a few days since the Ultimate Punishment." Kyouka was sliding a photograph into the first empty slot on the tea-stained page of the album. It was a snapshot from her own sight, a still taken from her own eyes. She was looking up at Tamaki; he was leaning against the wall of a hallway. Judging by the crimson walls, red carpet, and yellowed lamplight, they were on either the fifth or sixth floor, amongst all of the dorms. "Tamaki caught me one night... and introduced me to his plan."

Suddenly, she found herself being sucked into the photo, suctioned into the memory, now playing in her brain like a movie, like all memories should be; pieces of life, of movement. "He told me he had an idea, an idea to get both of us out of the Game," she recalled. "I... I went with it without complaint."

The trial room was too stunned to say anything, to protest. Even Shouto was merely standing there, horror visible in his expression. Somewhere in her mindscape, Kyouka was shoving another photograph into the album, and Cynthia was whispering a tale woven out of despair in her ear.

"I went to his room last night. I watched him write his suicide note. He sat down in the shower and told me to go for it. I stabbed him in the head." Yaomomo was saying the words as the memories came to her, vivid scenes of silver and pink and dark blue. "That was when my brain began shutting down the memories. I slashed up his body and wrote on the walls, likely in hysteria, I assume. After that, I washed off my hands in the sink and returned to my room for the night. Everything's explained, see?

"The killer of Tamaki Amajiki, the Ultimate Florist, was me. Momo Yaoyorozu."

She let out a sigh, turning to stare at the floor tiles. "I killed him, and that's how."

"B-But... Yaomomo..!" Shouto was in disbelief, horror written all over his face when she looked up. His eyes were wide with shock. "You don't have to do this, sacrificing yourself like this! There's no reason to! Pretending you killed him isn't going to make a difference, anyway- it'll just be voted as an incorrect answer- there's no way you could've..!"

Yaomomo laughed bitterly. "Quit the denial already. I'm not lying, Shouto. I killed Tamaki. I did it." She couldn't bear to meet his eyes; she knew she'd never look away if she did. "I even detailed it all out for you. It makes sense, right? So just vote for me already."

"Yaomomo..." Nejire's voice was soft. "This... this is all so sudden..! Why..? Why would you work with him..? I don't believe... that you... that you have the potential to kill..!"

"I know it's sudden," the Detective murmured. "It all just sort of... came back to me. All at once. Like I said, something to do with trauma, or something." She lifted her right palm and stared at it. "Now I can remember every splatter of blood that touched my skin." The very thought made her nerves tingle, made her brain ache and sweat break out on her arms.

"If... if what you're saying is true..." Hitoshi almost seemed confused, still too taken-aback to really react in any other way. "Then why did you spend all that time suspecting all of _us?_ Why..?"

"Reason escapes me." Yaomomo spun her hand around, still studying the lines in her skin. She gazed at her fingernails; how long had it taken to wash the blood out from under them? All concept of time was gone from her memory, but she knew she had run her skin red and raw under that stream of hot water. "Funny how brains work sometimes, huh? Now hurry up and get on with voting."

"W-We... we can't let you just do this!" Denki cried out. "You can't- you can't just die- not like this!"

"Yeah!" Tsuyu clasped her hands over her chest. "You can't die! You can't! There's been too much death already!"

"We won't let you do this, Yaomomo!" Shouto's voice was desperate; unreasonable, unable to be reasoned with. The ravenette lowered her hand and allowed her eyes to rake over his chest; in her peripheral, she could tell his jaw was set, fully determined to fight for his misguided belief in her. The rest of the students were following him, too. It was her against them.

_But I have the truth._

_I can't lose here._

_I'm a Detective, after all._

_I pursue only the truth._

_>Argument Armament : Start!<_

_{Nejire and Tsuyu's Lines [N/T] <> Letters to Counter}_

"Yaomomo... I may not know you well..." [N] <> (W) (D) (S) (A)

"But I know that you couldn't possibly kill someone..!" [N] <> (W) (S) (A) (D)

"Nejire's right! She always is!" [T] <> (W) (A) (S) (D)

"You can't die, Yaomomo! You can't! You can't!" [T] <> (W) (S) (D) (A)

"We won't let you do this!" [N + T] <> (W-A-S-D)

"You, killed... Tamaki..? It's impossible..!" [N] <> (S) (S) (S)

"I know you, Yaomomo..." [T] <> (W) (W) (W)

"I can't see you with a knife in your hand." [T] <> (A) (D) (A) (D) (S)

"There's no way it was you!" {N + T] <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Phase 2 : Advance!<_

_{Hitoshi and Denki's Lines [H/D] <> Letters to Counter}_

"Yaomomo, snap out of this!" [H] <> (A) (A) (W - Hold)

"Nothing you're doing makes sense!" [H] <> (W) (W) (S - Hold)

"If you're the killer..." [H] <> (S) (S) (D - Hold)

"Then why did you first jump to suspect _us?!"_ [H] <> (W-A-S-D)

"Y-Yeah... he's gotta be right..!" [D] <> (D) (D) (S - Hold)

"You're... you're not like that..." [D] <> (S) (S) (W - Hold)

"I know... you only love this class..!" [D] <> (W) (W) (A - Hold)

"You care about us... surely, th-that's the truth!" [D] <> (W-A-S-D)

"You can't be the killer, you just can't be!" [H + D] <> (W) (A) (D) (S)

_>Phase 3 : Advance!<_

_>You can't see anything... anything at all..!<_

_{Shouto's Lines <> Letters to Counter}_

"Momo Yaoyorozu..." <> (D) (A)

"What are you doing..?" <> (S) (D) (A - Hold)

"Stop this right now!" <> (W - Hold) (S) (A - Hold) (D)

"Stop doing this!" <> (S - Hold) (W) (A - Hold)

"I don't get it... I don't get it AT ALL!" <> (S) (D) (W - Hold) (D) (A) (W)

"You didn't kill Tamaki! There's no way you did!" <> (A) (W) (D) (A) (W) (D)

"I believed in you... I believed in you so much!" <> (S) (A) (D) (W) (S - Hold) (D) (A) (W - Hold)

"I refuse to believe you, of all people, killed him!" <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Phase 4 : Advance!<_

_>You can't see... anything... anything at all!<_

_{Classmates' Lines [N/T/H/D/S] <> Letters to Counter}_

"Please, don't do this!" [N/T/H/D/S] <> (A - Hold) (S) (A) (D)

"I don't believe you could be the killer!" [N] <> (W) (S) (A)

"Th-There's got to be some kind of mistake!" [N] <> (D - Hold) (A) (D) (W)

"B-Because... no matter what..." [N] <> (W) (S)

"I can't imagine- imagine you killing Tamaki!" [N] <> (D) (A) (S) (D - Hold)

"She's right." [T] <> (W - Hold)

"Why would your memories get locked out?" [T] <> (A) (D) (S - Hold) (D)

"Why did nobody else have this issue before?" [T] <> (W) (A - Hold) (S) (A) (D)

"This is- I don't understand this at all." [H] <> (D) (A) (S - Hold) (W)

"Your actions clearly contradict!" [H] <> (A) (D) (W - Hold)

"There's got to be a misunderstanding." [H] <> (S) (A) (S - Hold) (D - Hold)

"What are you planning?" [H] <> (A - Hold) (W) (A) (W)

"I c-can't see you mur-murdering, either!" [D] <> (S) (A) (W) (E) (S) (W - Hold)

"Tamaki... Tamaki w-wasn't in his right mind..!" [D] <> (A - Hold) (A) (S) (D) (S) (W - Hold)

"Surely... you wouldn't..." [D] <> (D - Hold) (W - Hold)

"...work with him... right..?" [D] <> (S - Hold) (A - Hold)

"Yaomomo..." [S] <> (W - Hold)

"I... I can't let you die..." [S] <> (D - Hold) (D) (W) (S - Hold) (A)

"I love you..." [S] <> (W) (W) (W - Hold)

"N-Not in the way I loved Izuku, but..." [S] <> (W) (S) (A) (D) (S - Hold) (W)

"I love you, Yaomomo!" [S] <> (W-A-S-D)

"You can't die here, you wouldn't!" [S] <> (W-A-S-D)

"You're our detective, Yaomomo!" [S] <> (W-A-S-D)

"Surely you've just gone delusional, o-or something!" [S] <> (S) (S) (A) (W - Hold) (D) (D) (S)

"Your brain's making up memories under stress! Yeah, that's got to be it!" [S] <> (W-A-S-D)

"So- so come back to us!" [S] <> (D - Hold) (D) (A) (S - Hold) (W)

"W-We believe in you!" [N] <> (W-A-S-D)

"Yeah, I trust you, I think." [T] <> (W-A-S-D)

"I'm sorry if I ever upset you..!" [H] <> (W-A-S-D)

"Please... d-don't go..!" [D] <> (W-A-S-D)

"I love you! Please!" [S] <> (W-A-S-D)

"We're not letting you die..!" [N/T/H/D/S] <> (W-A-S-D)

_>Final Blow.<_

_>W = The_  
_A = It's_  
_S = Despairful_  
_D = Truth<_

"We refuse to believe that you killed Tamaki Amajiki!" [N/D/S]

_"But I'm not lying."_

_>A-W-S-D : It'sTheDespairfulTruth : Break.<_

"E-Everyone..." Yaomomo felt drained, devoid of anything but the scent of blood returning to her databank and flooding all of her senses with it. She was growing dizzy with the overwhelming number of voices all crying out to her at once, begging fate to change hers and spare her sinful soul from the rightful punishment to come, the punishment she expected when she drove that knife into Tamaki's skull. "Please... stop. Stop fighting this."

"B-But, but Yaomomo-" Denki tried to speak out, but she cut him off.

"No! Enough!" the ravenette snapped, her voice rising. She immediately regretted it upon seeing the Electrician flinch in response, so she took a step back and sighed, looking down to her feet. "Sorry. But I don't want you guys all fighting me and trying to blind yourselves from the truth."

"There's no truth in anything you're saying!" Shouto protested, his voice cracking. She forced herself to drag her gaze up and meet his for a split second, ensnaring her in the hundreds of conflicting emotions that were within the shimmering, broken shards of blue and silver; she was drowning in regret, in self-blame, in anger, sorrow, grief, horror, desperation, hope, despair. "You can't... you couldn't have killed him! You're wrong! You've got to be wrong, this can't be true..!"

"I'm sorry, Shouto." She tried her best to offer him a small smile, but her lips were quivering, and she found herself unable to do anything but shakily curve them upwards. "I'm so sorry."

"Yaomomo..." Nejire couldn't say anything but her name. She clutched the podium railing so hard her knuckles were even whiter than white. "...you... you really did kill Tamaki, didn't you..?"

"Nejire?" Tsuyu's eyes were dazed; confused.

"Wh- Nejire! How could you believe that?!" Hitoshi sounded incredulous.

"Y-You wouldn't be arguing with us... if you were lying." The bluette tried to find Yaomomo's eyes, but the Detective looked away. "If anything, I... I know you that well."

Silence fell over the room, tense and thick as fog. Yaomomo could feel herself choking in it, strangling her with ropes tighter than those of a noose. She couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye, lest she feel their agony, their betrayal, their anger.

**But you killed Tamaki, didn't you?** Kyouka cooed. **You don't really care about them, right? You only care about yourself, right? Right?**

That was the very thought she'd been trying to convince herself of.

Why did she go with Tamaki's plan?

Why did she take his life?

The reasoning escaped her. She couldn't come up with any facts that proved her murder was justified, other than the fact that she simply didn't care. Even then, it sounded like a lie to her ears.

**Maybe your care for them has been a lie all this time, too.**

**Maybe it was all just an excuse for your own pitiful survival.**

"Please vote for me, everyone." That was all she could say. "The trial is over. It's all over. I admit to my crimes, so please... just vote for me..!"

Stunned into silence, not even Shouto had the heart to protest anymore.

Six oak levers all pointed to her.

The slots machine rolled through the faces of dead and alive alike.

All three landed on the pixelated face of a silver-eyed girl, her midnight hair pulled back in a ponytail, a stray lock draping over her eye like a drooping ahoge.

_It's over._

_>Class Trial : End!<_

"Puhuhu! What a despairfully delightful outcome!" Monokuma smirked. Compress was jiggling his leg, forcing the bear to bounce on top of his knee. "The killer was Momo Yaoyorozu! Man, you guys've got a record of seven out of eight! How lovely!"

For once, the room was silent. Nobody could speak; nobody had the energy to. Everyone was simply staring at their blackened.

Staring at her hands, Yaomomo could feel the stares of her classmates burning into her skull, dazed baby-blue and shadowed viridian, wide indigo and startled electric-yellow, teal and silver shards of glass that she'd shattered with three words, likewise he'd shattered her heart in ten.

"I- I'm so sorry." She sliced the tension in the room in half. "I'm so sorry..!"

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, hot droplets of liquid sliding down her cheeks. She clasped her hands in front of her chest. "I'm sorry, e-everyone..!"

"Y-Yaoyorozu... Momo..." Shouto's voice was hushed, her name seemingly foreign on his tongue. "Why..? I don't... understand this at all. Th-the... the Yaomomo I knew would never have touched a hair on any of her friends' heads. She loved her class and would fight for their lives even if they _wanted_ to die. So... so _why?!"_ There was suddenly the rush of footsteps, growing louder and louder, and suddenly someone was at her side.

She felt him grab her by the shoulder and spin her around so that she was forced to face him, and another hand swiftly but gently tipped her up by the chin so that she was locked in a staring match with him. _Shouto Todoroki._ The rhythmic name that once rang like bells and birdsong in her head only filled her with anguish. The boy standing before her had tears running down his face and desperate, mismatched eyes filled with anger. His cheeks were flushed and blotchy, and his mouth was set in a frown, teeth clenched in rage. "Tell me, Yaomomo, why did you kill Tamaki Amajiki?!"

Her silver eyes, overflowing with teardrops that fell down her face like jewels, held his frenzied gaze with unwavering certainty, despite the _pain_ and _guilt_ and _regret_ and unfulfilled wishes that throbbed in her heart. "I..." His warm fingers were shaking against her jawline as she tried to speak, every word that popped into her mind sounding wrong. "I'm just... I'm just tired."

She reached up and removed Shouto's hand by the wrist. He let it fall to his side, watching her with wide eyes, drinking in every syllable she uttered. She would've enjoyed the attention, but not in this context. Instead, it only brought her pain to think that the only time she'd ever be listened to so intently, so caringly, would be after she murdered one of her own classmates.

"I'm just so t-tired..!" She couldn't help but feel a sob overflow from her throat, the choked sound ugly and bitter on her tongue. "I... I gave up!" she cried. "I gave up on this stupid fucking game!"

"Y-Yaomomo..?"

"I can't do this anymore!" Yaomomo ignored Shouto's surprised yelp of alarm. She wrapped her arms across her chest, allowing her tears to freely flow down her face. "I can't! Not when- not when there are no rules to play by! Everyone... k-keeps dying... even the people who were supposed to be safe! Like- like Cynthia, and Natsuo, and Su-Sumidare, and Ichika! P-People who weren't supposed to suffer a-anymore, like E-Eri... even they got hurt in the end!"

She swiped at the tears on her cheeks, only for new ones to replace them instantly. She met Shouto's wide eyes, searching for something to ground herself, anything but the sorrowful expressions of the rest of her classmates. Of course, Shouto wasn't much better, his face twisted with anguish and tears falling from blistering eyes, but he was something. "No matter what... no matter what, we only keep killing each other! I get that now! That's why I went with it... because why play the game when you can just end it?!"

The murder of Tamaki Amajiki wasn't going to change anything. The death of the Ultimate Detective was hardly anything, either, not when the other Ultimates could still think and breathe.

She knew that, and it hurt her more than it should've.

**You just want to flee from this game, no matter what it takes or who you leave behind.**

All was quiet after her final words were spilled from her mouth. She held Shouto's wide-eyed stare for a second longer before ducking away, crying quietly, her arms wrapped tight around her own body for there was nobody else to hold her.

Well, nobody until now.

A pair of warm arms suddenly wrapped around her, and she found her face buried in the rough but intoxicatingly rice-scented fabric of a blue tunic. Her eyes widened, her cheek pressed against his chest; Shouto was clutching her to his chest, arms snugly locked against the small of her back.

_He's crying,_ she realized. Tears slipped down his face, a stray droplet falling onto her cheek and mixing with her own teardrops. "It's okay now, Yaomomo," he choked out, his voice distorted by sobs. "It's okay. You don't have to fight anymore."

"B-Because I'm about to die..?" The ravenette tried to throw a bit of humor in her voice, but fear quickly washed any traces of any other emotion out of it as a lead weight dropped in her stomach.

_She was going to be executed._

_She was about to die._

"Y-You... you won't die, Yaomomo..." Shouto's grip tightened around her, if that were even possible; he was holding her like she was someone important to him, someone he wanted to protect, and that was the singular beacon within her hurricane of a brain. She buried her face in his chest and tried to pretend everything was okay, her own arms snaking around his body, even when a certain robotic voice rang in her ears to announce her demise.

"Any last words, Miss Detective?" Monokuma cooed. His bearish laughs barely reached her mind, barely registered in her body. She forced a coherent reply out of her mouth.

"No." Her own voice was muffled into Shouto's clothes. She pulled back, hesitantly detaching herself from him. She wiped the last tears away from her face and looked up to glare at the villains on the throne, her silver eyes sharp despite the tearstains on her flushed cheeks. "I'm ready to go now."

"Excellent." Monokuma grinned. "Well, I have prepared a _very_ special punishment..."

She turned back to look at her classmates, her allies, her _friends_ in the trial room, just one final time.

There were tears slipping down Nejire's face, but that was to be expected; she was so sensitive, so meek, as soft as a lamb. Yaomomo was glad she didn't have to see her off, although forcing the latter to see her most esteemed Detective get executed wasn't much better.

Tsuyu was staring blankly at her, perfectly unreadable as always. Yaomomo tried to find sadness in her eyes, but was only met with confusion. _Confusion at what? Herself? Or me..? I suppose I'll never know._

Hitoshi bore a wide-eyed expression, gazing at Yaomomo as if the entire experience were still surreal. He wasn't crying, but the way his fists clenched at her side betrayed his frustration with the situation. She could nearly hear his thoughts, ringing like a broken record- _It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair._

Denki's face was cast in shadow. He was staring at his feet, arms wrapped around his torso as if he were agonizing over something. _Over what?_ Another thing she'd never know. She hadn't realized how much information, how much knowledge she'd taken for granted. Being alive meant you could discover things and receive explanations; having unsolved mysteries in your head was a mere side effect of dying.

And finally, Shouto. Shouto, Shouto, Shouto. Yaomomo wished his name, his image, his voice could be engraved in her brain even when she was dead and the void had swallowed her whole. There were too many emotions in his face to read; it was just a jumble of confusion, of grief, of loss, of betrayal, of sorrow, of guilt, of regret, of pain, of _despair._ Yaomomo tried to offer him a smile again; this time, her lips curved as easily as a spoiled girl breathed.

"...for Momo Yaoyorozu, the Ultimate Detective!"

"Thank you, Shouto. Thank you, everyone." The smile fell from her lips as swiftly as it came, a flash in time, replaced only with dread and regret and pain. "In the end, I think..."

"Are you all ready..?"

_No, no I'm not..!_ Yaomomo swallowed down her terrified thoughts, her racing mind, and tried to finish speaking. "I'm glad... I'm glad I fought for you all."

"Iiiiit's..."

"Sorry it ended with me betraying everyone."

"PUNISHMENT TI-"

"W-WAIT!"

_...huh..?_

_>Break!<_

...

...

...

The trial room went quiet. Yaomomo halted and slowly swiveled in place to see who had called out.

"Huh? Wait what?" Monokuma had whipped around as well. Behind where he stood on the crimson-carpeted stairs, Compress tensed, sitting up straight and fingering the glove covering his one usable hand.

Denki Kaminari stood at his podium, staring up at the throne with wide, petrified, golden eyes. He was shaking, clutching the railing as if it were his life support. "S-Stop this!"

"You, what are you raving on about?!" Monokuma glared at him, his crimson eye flashing dangerously. "Disruptions are _not_ appreciated in the trial room, ya know?!"

"S-Stop this! You- You know what I'm talking about, Monokuma!" Denki's expression was stricken with fear, but he pushed onwards. "I-If... if you want to execute the most impure out of us... if you want to execute the truly blackened, the g-guiltiest... th-that... that wouldn't be Yaomomo!" He released his podium railing and stepped away from it, turning to face the throne, head tipped skywards to meet the villains' eyes, despite his terror. "It would... it would be _me!"_

"Denki, are you crazy?!" Hitoshi rushed from his own podium to the blonde's side. He grabbed Denki by the shoulder. "What the fuck are you doing?! I understand you don't want Yaomomo to die, none of us do, but... but we can't fight the villains! You should know that by now!"

"No, no I don't." Denki began to slowly but steadily walk towards the throne, gently brushing Hitoshi's hand away with a flick of his bandaged wrist- the gauze was as white as porcelain. He held Monokuma's glare the entire time. "This game has no true rules. The villains... the villains can bend them and lie as much as they want."

"Denki, what are you talking about?" Tsuyu spoke out, her tone frustrated. "When have the villains broken the rules of this game? Even when their own ally, Tooru, was convicted... she was executed."

"I agree with her. I appreciate your concern, really..." Yaomomo turned to him as well, but he didn't do the same for her. He was still stiffly, _stubbornly_ glaring at Mr. Compress, hands clenched in fists. She continued speaking anyway, even if he wasn't listening. Her words were icy. "But I'm the _killer._ Don't insist that you're the blackened, because you know it won't work. I don't care if the villains would break their rules- I deserve to die, and you don't."

"I'm not- Oh, for god's sake, _I'm not talking about the case!"_ Denki snapped, suddenly breaking his staring match with Monokuma. He whirled around to face Yaomomo. There was a certain sort of anger, of regret in his eyes, in the quivering frown on his face. "I'm talking about m-myself!"

"What's... that supposed to mean..?" Nejire whimpered.

"I... I made a deal with the villains when the game first started..." Denki hesitated, his eyes falling to the ground. "They needed a communication link in the game other than Tooru, since as the traitor there was a higher chance of her getting caught."

"Hey! Quit spilling!" Monokuma cried out, wildly waving his paws about. Silver claws gleamed in the amber light of the trial room. "I forbid you to! You know what happens if you spill!"

"I-I know! I don't care anymore, so shut up and let me speak!" Denki gave him a hefty glare and turned back to Yaomomo. His expression softened. "I... They gave me a phone, and i-its only function was to communicate with the villains. The... the deal was that as long as I maintained contact with them, they would inform me of deaths. I'd be told right when they occurred, even before the body discovery announcement. I was told all the motives ahead of time, too." He swallowed thickly. "Th-they also... they also promised the utmost protection of my family."

He visibly tensed, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists. His eyes clouded over as he looked down. "That... that was supposed to include Ichika..."

"Denki..." Hitoshi's voice was gentle. He approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I... I'm sorry."

"S-Sorry?" The Electrician's voice was incredulous. He looked up and met Hitoshi's cloudy, violet eyes. "Why... are you sorry for me? I've been p-protected by our gamemasters this entire time..! I was always kept up to date with who was dangerous, who was plotting something, updates from the outside world, th-that kind of stuff. I even broke Mei's device when Tooru told me to. I was a traitor... a tr-traitor to all of you..!" Tears welled over his wide, amber eyes, cascading down his face like raindrops tumbling from electric clouds. "You shouldn't feel sorry for me..!"

Suddenly, he pushed Hitoshi away and broke into a sprint, making a beeline for Monokuma. "I've had enough of this! I'm done with being a victim! I'm going to be a hero you can be proud of!" He grabbed the surprised robot by the neck, picking him up and throwing him as hard as he could towards the podiums. The monochrome bear hit the railing of Kyouka's podium, sending her portrait tumbling to the floor. The glass covering on the mugshot shattered on the ground. Monokuma hissed, hauling himself to his feet. Denki was standing, defiant as he hovered, now uncertain, at the foot of the stairs. Mr. Compress had jumped to his feet, hand now ungloved and poised to strike.

"DENKI!" Hitoshi shrieked as both Monokuma, whose jaw had unhinged to reveal a gaping maw of whirling machinery and metal fangs, and Compress dove for the ex-traitor. With lightning-fast reflexes, Denki darted out of the way, stumbling as he did.

The battle-honed villains arced on their feet, not missing a beat and tailing the Electrician as he dashed up the stairs, aiming for the throne. Yaomomo and Shouto leaped back to avoid being trampled, backing up to where Nejire was huddled by Ochako's podium with Tsuyu. The bluette was clutching the latter's hand. On the other end of the spectrum, Hitoshi was running after them at top speed, making a beeline to catch Monokuma.

"Call reinforcements! Quickly!" Compress yelled to the black and white bear, swerving as Denki darted around the throne instead.

"Got it!" Monokuma obliged, tapping one of his ears with one claw. "Ahem! Emergency! Emergency!" The sound was emitted from his body as if he had a speaker; his jaw was unmoving, metal tongue still writhing within his mouth. "Situation O-Seven! Student gone rogue, Subject Denki Kaminari! I repeat, Situation O-Seven! Student gone rogue, Subject Denki Kaminari!"

His red eye was flashing like a siren as he continued pelting after Denki like a rabid dog. Denki leaped over a podium and landed in the center of the circle, scrambling to his feet and just barely dodging Compress, who dove after him. Hitoshi ringed around the podiums, aiming to circle around and catch them head on. Denki bounded over another podium and kept running, Compress and Monokuma hot on his heels. Hitoshi reached to grab Monokuma, but the robot was still too fast for his fingers to even graze, and he snatched only air.

A portal opened up over the circle. "Reinforcements have arrived," Dabi deadpanned, landing nimbly on his feet on the black and white tiles. Blue flames sprouted from his raised palm, hovering in a glowing, cerulean ember over his scarred skin. Behind him, Toga landed as well; she was donning a new look, a fur-hooded, tan jacket thrown over her schoolgirl outfit. She twirled her daggers in her nimble little fingers, grinning like the maniac that she was. She didn't have her blood pack or needles, but the silver blades alone were deadly enough against a group of unarmed children.

"Hehehe! It's time for a little fun, Dabi! Who do we have to stab this time?!" The girl's golden eyes glittered with excitement.

"Calm down." Dabi waved his free hand dismissively at the blonde. "We're just here to settle a minor riot. Did you even listen to Monokuma's call?"

"Nope! You were the one who did that." She grinned and pointed one knife at him.

Dabi sighed. "We're here to... _calm down_ Denki." He seemed in no rush, despite the chaos Denki, Compress, Monokuma, and Hitoshi were creating. The other four students had backed into a wall, staying as far away from the battle as they could. Shouto was clutching Yaomomo's hand, as if afraid that she'd slip away and drop dead at any moment. Nejire was hugging Tsuyu, burying the Swimmer's face in her chest and watching the chase anxiously.

Denki suddenly whirled around, catching Mr. Compress off guard as he arced right and dashed towards the masked man's left side- his prosthetic side. Compress stumbled to catch him, turning to grab Denki with his right hand, but missed by just a sliver.

Denki collided head-on with Monokuma, grabbing the robotic mutant and diving into a tumble with him in his arms. He landed against a podium and hesitated not even a second to throw Monokuma into the ground before him with as much force as he could muster in his thin, overstressed arms.

The creature hit the ground, and bones could be heard snapping. Monokuma's jaw seemed to unhinge even further as he wailed- in agony, or in alarm? _Does he even have nerves after the surgery?_ Denki screamed and picked up the broken body again, slamming into the ground over and over.

"Denki!" Hitoshi had halted, stunned as he watched the blonde break the little monster against the monochrome floor tiles quickly splattering with hot pink. Denki was practically throttling the rodent, bones and metal and wires alike coming loose within his patchwork body, piercing skin and fur and flesh. Blood squirted from the wounds, splattering up Denki's arms and staining his bandages magenta, splattering his collarbone, his face, his neck, the floor, the rug, the podium they were next to. _Tooru's podium,_ Yaomomo noted dully. _A bloodstained podium for a bloodstained traitor._

She was mostly fixated on watching Denki's face, electric eyes wide with rage. He finally finished fully mutilating Monokuma's -no, _Nedzu's,_ Yaomomo could see bone and organs in that mess, more animal than robot on the inside- corpse, letting the body drop to the ground. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving. He stared at his pink-stained hands, gaze flickering between the mangled mess of bones and wires and flesh and crimson glass, the robotic eye flickering as its internal systems shut down with the death of its host. There was blood everywhere, blood on his clothes, splattered across the floor, on his arms, on his neck, on his face, on Tooru's podium behind him.

Mr. Compress had backed away a healthy several meters, as did Hitoshi; however, the former seemed perfectly calm, casually standing with his arms crossed, while the latter's expression betrayed horror, staring at Monokuma's remains and his blood-covered friend.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep._ A high-pitched beeping suddenly filled the room. Yaomomo glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound, only for her eyes to land on Denki once more.

"Denki..?" Hitoshi's voice was tiny, especially compared to the beeping, which was rapidly growing louder and louder. The violette's eyes suddenly widened in horror; he surged forwards, stumbling, making to run for his friend. "DENKI! GET AWA-"

_Too little, too late._

_As always._

Monokuma's eye burst to life, glowing bright red.

The bloody carcass exploded in a blossom of blood, flesh, and flames, engulfing the room in a thick smoke bomb within a split second. Yaomomo flinched and jumped back, hitting the wall; Shouto clutched her hand as if it were a lifeline, which it kind of was considering the amount of smog now in the air- she couldn't see a thing. She coughed into her free arm, fanning her face as she waited for the smoke to clear so she could see what happened to the two closest to the explosion.

**Well, you know what happened to one of them already.**

_Shut up, Cynthia. He... he can't be dead..._

But as the air cleared once more, the scene was made clear.

Denki laid, perfectly still, next to a small, dark crater in the floor. There was blood everywhere, splattered over every surface imaginable: the podiums, the floor, the rug, _the body,_ even the villains. The Electrician's face was charred, blood seeping through his soot-covered skin and running down his face. His eyes were shut, his mouth a slight frown, as peaceful as in sleep. His clothes were burned, dark fabric singed even darker by the flames of the explosion. His collar, the collar that had once matched Kyouka's, was lying on the ground next to him, the ashen cloth ripped at one width of it.

Hitoshi was lying on the floor, too, several feet away. He stirred, groaning, blinking open his eyes. His clothes were covered in soot, although his face and hair were only smudged with gray; he'd likely raised his arms to protect his face during the explosion. His eyes were wide with horror, with tears, as they landed on the body by Tooru's podium, which had been blown to splinters. He immediately began to run for the crater.

"Denki!" He stumbled, coughing, his voice raspy with smoke. Hitoshi staggered to the blonde's side and shook him by the shoulder. The body merely rolled limply. "Denki. Denki! No..! DENKI!" He sobbed, tears streaming down his face as he gripped the shorter by the arm. Crystals dripped onto Denki's bloody face, washing clean trails down his pale skin that were quickly painted over by fresh, pink droplets. "DENKI! Wake up..! Please! Denki!" He crumpled over the Electrician's dead body, ignoring the blood that was running all around the broken corpse, running from his face, from his eyes, from his mouth. Hitoshi hugged the ex-traitor against his chest. Denki's head lolled and leaned against his shoulder. "D-Denki..."

"Welp, looks like we didn't have to do anything after all." Dabi had extinguished his flame sometime during the smoke bomb. He brushed off his clothes. Behind him, Toga peered over his shoulder, arms looped around his midsection. Her knives were still twirling between her fingers. "Himiko, get off me."

"Sure, sure." Toga pulled back, carefully making sure not to cut the taller. "Well, can we go now? We kind of left Spinner and Twice alone on guard watch..."

Dabi shrugged. "Meh. They should be fine. I don't think they would have any problem if we got atta-"

_BOOM._

There was the sound of another explosion above the ceiling.

"...eh?" Mr. Compress snapped his glove over his hand and tugged at his coattails. "What was that?"

Yaomomo stared at the shuddering chandelier, a tiny glimmer of hope building in her chest. _Could it... be..?_

"Himiko... I think we should go back up," Dabi said slowly, taking her by the forearm. He tapped something behind his ear with his free hand. "Kurogiri. Kurogiri. Do you copy?"

There was silence. Toga turned to watch his face, his subtly widening cerulean eyes. "Alright. Got it. We're heading up, open the portal, hurry."

He couldn't even finish speaking when a second _BOOM_ echoed through the trial room, like the epicenter of an earthquake. Dust floated down from the ceiling; the chandelier wobbled, the lights blinking. "Hey, Dabi, in hindsight, I think leaving behind Spinner and Twice was a bad idea," Toga tutted, twirling one dagger as she stared at the ceiling. Dabi let go of her to ready a flame in his palm once more, teal petals erupting from dark skin.

"Yeah, probably." Dabi tapped the bud behind his ear again, paused, and grimaced. "Okay. Copy. Hurry up and get reinforcements for us." He turned to throw a glance at Mr. Compress; the illusionist had taken off his glove once more, taking a battle-ready stance. "Get ready to fight. The defense has been breached. Hold the subjects."

"The defense..?" Yaomomo couldn't help but echo the villain's words, her words painfully hopeful. Shouto squeezed her hand.

"...breached..?" Nejire held Tsuyu tighter to her, the green-haired girl returning the embrace and burying her face in the bluette's chest.

"..." Hitoshi continued to cry, ignoring the explosions, simply focusing on hugging his friend's dead body to his chest and burying his face in his soot-streaked, blonde hair.

There was a third _BOOM._

The chandelier shattered as a massive chunk of the ceiling crumbled in.

"Gyahh-!" Yaomomo raised her free hand to her eyes to shield them, turning away as a cloud of debris billowed throughout the chamber as the rubble hit the ground.

When the dust cleared, Yaomomo looked out with watering eyes to see the one thing she'd been hoping for for weeks and months; what felt like years, a decade, a lifetime, a millennium, an eternity.

"Finally, we've found you!" Endeavor's blazing eyes of ice landed on Dabi and Toga. Behind him, an entire army of heroes rushed in after him. He held up a hand, a plume of amber erupting from his fingertips. "League of Villains, we demand the release of the students of U.A. High!"

_The heroes..._

_They're finally here..._

_>Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning : The End | Surviving Students : 6 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item Obtained: Burned Collar<_


	49. Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End - Part 1 - Deadly Life

Dabi didn’t respond to Endeavor’s threat with words. Instead, he threw a massive plume of ice-blue fire towards him, blazing through the podiums in the process. The oak wood caught flame as Endeavor merely raised his palm and countered the attack with his own gust of orange embers. The only light in the domed room now was the blaze of the fire and the too-bright illumination from the floor above, streaming into the destroyed hollow through the massive hole in the ceiling.

“We would never voluntarily release your students,” Dabi drawled, lowering his smoldering hand. “Fight us all you want, but we’d never allow our hard-earned subjects to simply slip away after such a struggle obtaining them and developing their cases.”

“How cruel.” Ryuukyuu stepped out from behind Endeavor, her mahogany cloak drifting around her. Nejire gasped; Yaomomo glanced down to see that her eyes, so devoid of light and life, were suddenly sparkling with a sliver of hope. “Holding these poor children hostage, and forcing them to kill each other…” She lifted a hand to her lips, grimacing, her expression twisting with sorrow. _Of course. Ochako… was her pupil too._

Dabi didn’t allow her to continue, _tch_ing and throwing a second plume of flame at her. In a split second, a smoky cloud erupted around the Dragon Hero, and she transformed into her massive, serpentine form, her wing shielding the heroes behind her from the flames. They left no mark on her peachy scales.

“Monsters,” she growled. “Monsters, each and every one of you.” She turned to her ally. “Endeavor, give us the word, and we’re ready to attack.”

“Of course.” The Number One Hero himself readied his hands; flames danced across his body, transforming him into a living torch. “Heroes, go! Remember your objectives!”

“Yes!” In one unified battle cry, a mass of heroes stormed into the trial room, many familiar faces making their appearances in the crowd. Yaomomo huddled closer to Shouto, releasing his hand in favor of pressing against the wall. Nejire and Tsuyu backed into them as well; all four of them were cast in the shadow of a red velvet curtain. On the other hand, Hitoshi curled up against a podium, separated from the group, clutching his friend’s limp, pale hand. He was oblivious to the battle waging around him; his world had been Denki after Mashirao died, and now his world was gone.

Amidst the chaos, Toga, Dabi, and Compress attempted to hold off the onslaught of heroes -well, it was mostly Dabi creating walls of fire- while being quickly outnumbered. The raven-haired delinquent tapped the communication bud behind his ear again. “KUROGIRI! HURRY UP WITH YOUR REINFORCEMENTS!”

Before one could say, “Already done,” a massive, indigo portal opened up in the ceiling, over the trial circle. A swarm of villains, enough to match each hero in one-on-one battle and more, came tumbling out and into the fray. The trial room had transformed into a battlefield, a cacophony of noise; not one of truth and lies, no, but of good and evil, of quirks matched up against quirks.

One villain hurried near the group of survivors against the wall, a girl that looked about Toga’s age who wore a white blouse with an orange ribbon, a black skirt, and a matching jacket thrown over her shoulders. There were gold-rimmed glasses perched atop her face; the glass shimmered in the pale lamplight. “Well, we can’t let you four be running around, can we?” She took a fighting stance in front of them, her navy hair cascading down her back. There were twin switchblades in her pale hands. “I’ll keep you all right where I want you.”

Surveying the situation -and their new villainous guard, who had immediately gotten to work dueling with a hero with long, chocolate twintails wearing an hooded, olive-green cloak-, Yaomomo could tell this wasn't going to be a fast nor easy fight. "Shouto!" She had to yell to be heard over the cacophony filling the chamber. He turned to her, wide-eyed. "What should we do?!"

“They’re here to rescue us!” he yelled back. “We should try to stay put!”

“They don’t have a chance getting near us! There’s too many villains!” Nejire cried out. “We should move!”

“What?!” Yaomomo’s eyes widened. “That only puts us in danger! No matter where we are, the villains are still surrounding us!”

“Th-Then split up!” Tsuyu suggested. “Get to the heroes! The villains wouldn’t hurt us, right? They don’t want to give us up.”

“Good point.” Shouto surveyed the chamber. “Nejire and Tsu, go left, towards Ryuukyuu. She could fly you two out, or at least get you to someone who can.” Nejire nodded, clutching Tsuyu’s hand. The Swimmer was standing at her side, determination clear in her expression. “I think I could help that hero there with our guard,” Shouto continued. “Yaomomo, go to Hitoshi and make sure he’s safe.” His bejeweled eyes were warm with trust as he regarded her, and a pang shot through her chest.

**How sweet. He still trusts you so.**

“Shouto…” The Detective faltered. “How could you still trust me..? I betrayed you. Why are you still protecting me instead of leaving me to die here?”

“Why do you believe that?” His lips turned to a frown, his voice softening. “It’s not your fault, okay? If anything, I should be the one apologizing for putting so much pressure on you, carrying all of the investigations and verdicts. I thought you were so strong, so steadfast...”

“Well, clearly you didn’t know me well enough.” The ravenette’s voice cracked. “I’m not strong, Shouto. Even now, I’m not.”

“But you still care.” The Theorist smiled slightly. “You still love your classmates, your friends, even if they turn on you.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Yaomomo couldn’t bring herself to meet Shouto’s eyes, instead fixing them on her shoes and bunching up her skirt in her hands. “I don’t even know myself. I don’t know why I killed Tamaki.”

“You made a mistake because you were hurt. It’s okay.” His voice was gentle; warm and comforting. She still couldn’t look up. “It happens to everyone.”

“Not everyone winds up killing someone else.”

“Yaomomo…” There was a shuffling to her right, and suddenly Nejire had wormed in front of her and had wrapped her arms around her shallow midsection, her head buried in her chest. The ravenette stared at the waterfall of pale blue hair that cascaded down the shorter’s back. “It’s okay, r-really. Nobody blames you.”

“...” Yaomomo wasn’t sure exactly what to say to the Beauty Pageant Star, the one whose only friend she’d murdered. Finally, she settled on just placing her hands over the small of Nejire’s back. “Thank you.”

She looked up, and silver eyes met flickering, mismatched beacons.

“Let’s all escape together, okay?”

“That’s a promise.” Shouto chuckled softly. “We’ve gone too far to fall now.”

Nejire pulled away; for once, she didn’t cry. In fact, she was grinning; she looked like a blurry reflection of her hero-self, smiling and ready to help those around her. “Let’s go. We can finally escape the game..!”

“Sure. No hesitation now.” Yaomomo looked to Shouto. “Give us the word.”

“Okay.” He smiled, a perfect face of hope, of excitement. “See you on the other side.”

Swift as an arrow, he sprinted out and tackled the blue-haired villain from behind. She yelped and twisted to stab him with her blade, only for the brunette hero to lunge and grab her by the wrist “They’ll be fine,” Nejire soothed, ripping Yaomomo’s attention away from the tussle. She took Tsuyu by the hand. “Let’s go… trust Shouto to keep his word.”

With that, she bolted for Ryuukyuu on the other side of the chamber, Tsuyu matching her every step. Yaomomo found herself standing alone by the wall, Shouto’s task for her urging her to move. _Hitoshi…_ She glanced over to the violette, who was still curled up in a fetal position by Denki’s body. Villains and heroes swarmed around him, but he seemed physically unharmed. She slipped silently between the many battles throughout the room, weaving around heroes and making her way to the crater.

“Hitoshi,” she murmured, hesitantly approaching him. He didn’t reply; she didn’t expect him to. The ravenette didn’t move to sit down or comfort him; he was inconsolable. He wouldn’t want her sympathy, after all she’d done to him. Instead, she settled to hover awkwardly over him, unable to do anything but wait for a hero to make it to them and lift them away.

She hated waiting, hated being powerless to do anything, whether positive or negative. Her fingers tingled with nervous, unspent energy. _I have to do something. Anything…_

“Hiyah!” Someone called out behind her, and Yaomomo ducked and whipped around, nearly stepping on Hitoshi in the process. He peered up, his face cast in shadow, a single violet pupil gazing blankly up at their attacker.

“Aw, darn, I missed.” The villain was a young girl, shorter than the one whom Shouto had attacked. She had long, glossy, blue hair that cascaded down her back in a rippling wave. Her wide, teal eyes and delightful grin were fixed on Yaomomo; when the latter met them, she found nothing but crazed bloodlust in those dark rings.

The villain wore a pink and white dress that went to her knees, ripped at the edges and spotty with suspicious, dark stains. A frayed pink bow sat atop a thin headband in her navy locks. Her pale, knee-length boots were splattered with muddy magenta. In her hands, clutched in fingers bearing hot pink nails, was a simple kitchen knife, the silver edge shiny with fresh blood, the fluid still dripping.

She’d recognize this girl anywhere.

“You’re Dancing Death, aren’t you?” Yaomomo tried her best to sound confident. Without taking her eyes off of her, she reached over to her right and picked up a broken beam of wood from the destroyed podium, hefting it like a weapon.

“Ooh, I’m flattered!” The girl grinned, revealing pearly-white teeth. “Damn, I’m happy people can recognize a celeb when they see one.” Using her blade, she whipped her hair over her back, streaking the blue with hot pink blood in the process.

“Unfortunately, our little meet and greet is about to end! Get ready to fight!” The girl’s eyes sharpened, and she suddenly charged for Yaomomo, hefting her bloody knife. The blade gleamed in the dim light; her eyes seemed to glow. The ravenette swiftly raised the wooden beam, deflecting an attack. Even without practice, she was a hero at heart; a fighter in the name of blind justice.

“Hmmph.” Yaomomo wielded the beam like a shield or a lance, both blocking Dancing’s swift strikes and jabbing at her with the splintered end. The villain was faster than her, though; Yaomomo was finding herself herded farther and farther away from Hitoshi.

_Geez, this girl is stronger than she looks. I don’t know her too well, beyond her name... Is she some violent teenager like Toga? She sure has the looks for it. I don’t know her quirk, either… She didn’t seem to do anything strange during the USJ attack… better watch out._ Yaomomo’s head spun with the rapid-fire observations she was picking up with every sense on the battlefield, unconsciously sorting them and utilizing anything she possibly could to her advantage. Her skirt fluttered around her as she was pushed back by another blow from the serial killer. _Damn, she’s fast._

“Impressed, aren’t you?” Dancing smirked, flashing her perfectly white teeth. She moved to stab Yaomomo again; the ravenette jumped to dodge. “Most people are. I sure look young, don’t I? I’m actually in my twenties, but please don’t go around telling people that. It ruins my image,” she added hastily.

“Wha..?” Yaomomo blinked, momentarily stunned with surprise. _Is she… reading my thoughts..?_

“Yup! You’re absolutely right!” Dancing giggled and took advantage of the opening the Detective had created, slashing her across the cheek. Yaomomo cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, clutching the beam to her chest with one hand, the other plastered to her cheek, which burned and stung as if her skin were on fire. When she removed her hand to inspect it, her palm was coated in blood, warm and wet and hot pink. Liquid was still dripping down her face, sickeningly metallic in scent.

“I’m a mindreader! Pretty cool, right? It’s super helpful, but people don’t like it.” The girl grinned, slashing joyfully at Yaomomo. She messily parried the blade with her stick, pushed back by her rapidly advancing blows.

_She… seems so familiar to me for some reason, and not because of the USJ thing. I feel like I’ve seen this girl somewhere, but I’ve certainly never fought someone so fast and consistent in the streets..!_

“Of course you’ve seen me before!” Dancing paused, feinting left before slashing her right. Yaomomo stumbled and tripped over her own foot, hitting the ground and landed on her behind. She clutched her beam, but it was covered in slashes, ready to snap at pretty much any second. “Everyone has!”

The ravenette scowled, her fingers gripping the wood so tightly her knuckles were beginning to pale. The girl was standing over her, grinning with her knife raised. In her shadow, her azurite eyes seemed to glow like a cat’s, a particularly cruel panther that had cornered its prey at long last.

_Haha… so is this how I die?_ Yaomomo mused, bracing herself for the inevitable pain as the knife swung towards her faster than she could possibly roll away. The wood was going to splinter if it took another blow; she could feel it bending in her hands. _Survived a Killing Game in which all of my friends died... only to be killed by a villain in the end anyway._

_It’s… so unfair…_

_This shouldn’t be happening..!_

**But it is.**

**And it’s all that you deserve, you filthy, spoiled murderer.**

**You’re only receiving your rightful retribution, the one Denki so valiantly protected you from, you pathetic creature.**

_Cynthia… how could you be so cruel..?_

All of the thoughts flashed through her brain in an instant, every emotion and thought engraved in her skull in a mere millisecond. Any moment now, the blade would pierce her flesh and cut her apart, leaving her to bleed out on the ground, a heap of organs and flesh more than a person.

She tightly shut her eyes. There was nothing left to do but wait.

_One… two…three…_

But nothing came.

“Eh?” Confused, Yaomomo blinked and looked up.

There was nobody standing over her. An icy shock jolted through her, and she scrambled to her feet. _Did I..? No, I couldn’t possibly have hallucinated something so vividly…_

But as she looked to her left, she found the bluette villain on the ground, tussling with a hero with red hair and a goatee. He was wearing a red and white visor and a matching jacket and jeans. They were engaged in a deadly fistfight, the girl’s knife abandoned on the ground.

“Regroup with Shinsou!” the hero called when he noticed her watching them with wide, silver eyes. Silver rings clipped his ears. “Someone will fly you two out!”

“O-Okay..!” Dazed, she stumbled to her feet, dropping the wooden splinters on the floor. She hurried back to Hitoshi; he was curled up in a ball next to Denki, still unwilling to abandon the body. He was watching her with wide, indigo eyes.

“Are you okay?” he inquired, more monotonous than caring. Yaomomo didn’t mind; she nodded and crouched down next to him to catch her breath, although she was ready to fight if it came to it. “What should we do?”

“I think... we should stay put,” the Detective sighed. “A hero will come over… soon enough.”

The two huddled together in silence for about half a minute before a hero came crashing down next to them- quite literally. Yaomomo and Hitoshi both jumped as a man with spiky, brown hair tumbled down from the ceiling, breaking his fall an inch above the floor. He was hovering midair- _probably his quirk,_ Yaomomo decided, having jumped to her feet in alarm.

He wore a black shirt with yellow shoulder pads. There was a black, spiked collar around his neck, and a pair of silver wings were attached to his back. He wore plain, black pants that matched his top and a utility belt. “Hey there. I’m Peregrine. My partners and I’ll get you out of here, okay?” He had dull, olive eyes, a neutral gaze that seemed to pierce yet never quite reach Yaomomo all at the same time. Peregrine looked away. “Ah. There’s Pixel Kit.”

A girl with pinkish hair that fell to her shoulders approached them. The girl was flying down on a pixelated sort of hoverboard, kneeling on the glowing panel and gracefully descending next to Denki’s body. The board vanished in a puff of light as she landed, dropping her off safely sitting on the cracked floor.

Yaomomo’s eyes widened slightly as the hero got up. She knew who this was; she was the Gaming Hero: Pixel Kit. On top of being a hero, she often did modeling, given her cutesy, young appearance- that was how Yaomomo found out about her, through an idol magazine Mina was flipping through in class.

_Idol magazine…_

“Hey, hey.” Her voice was soft; the glowing cat ears on her head pulsed pastel pink. Without even taking her sweet, rose-colored eyes off of Yaomomo and Hitoshi, she calmly raised her left hand and shot out a shining, pixelated spear from her palm- it reminded Yaomomo of her own quirk, producing guns from her skin. It struck a snake-headed villain square in the chest; while the blunt tip didn’t draw blood, it knocked him back and to the ground. “My hero name’s Pixel Kit. I'll help you out.”

“When can we start running?” Hitoshi mumbled. He was watching her over his arm with sharp eyes. “You two together should be strong enough to safely get us out, right?”

“We're leaving right now. Come on.” Peregrine bent down to help Hitoshi to his feet. Meanwhile, Pixel Kit continued firing off pixelated spears of light at the approaching villains. Yaomomo allowed the two to flank her and Hitoshi as they began to slowly make their way around the trial circle, closer to the ruined elevator.

“Hey, Pix!” The Detective turned to see that Mirko had called out to them. A girl with messy, burgundy hair and one with shorter brown locks followed closely behind the Rabbit Hero. The former wore a dark maroon bodysuit with lighter, crimson stripes up her sides and a massive black cloak and hood. The cloak’s edge was frayed and ragged. A utility belt around her waist held a plethora of pockets and a frightening array of- _were those scissors?_

On the other hand, the latter with shorter, neatly cut hair was donning a dark blue bodysuit. Similar to her partner’s attire, lighter stripes ran up her sides, flowing with her smooth, rounded curves. However, she wore an LED cat headpiece much like Pixel Kit’s, albeit her ears were larger and the LED was flashing like an alarm, revealing the banded pattern the lights followed, much like a bat’s ear. A piece of pink-tinted plexiglass covered her face, reminiscent of Ochako’s old hero mask.

A third hero, another woman wearing a leotard like Mirko’s in style but sea-blue with dark purple swirls, was hurrying at the Rabbit’s side. There was a green, starfish-like bow in her dark viridian hair. She was as built as Mirko herself, who presently barked an order to her. The shorter nodded and ran off on her own, probably to kick some ass, judging by the way she let out a battle cry and leaped into a group of villains.

The other two were keeping the attacking foes at bay while their leader made her way to Yaomomo, Hitoshi, Peregrine, and Pixel. The one with the cloak was wielding a long, silver lance. Meanwhile, the one with the cat mask was screaming at the approaching villains. Whatever she was saying, the words must’ve hit home pretty hard, because the victims of her assault doubled over or stumbled back in pain.

Mirko bounded over to where Peregrine and Pixel Kit shielded the two survivors against a podium from a sudden wave of villains. Peering over the pinkette’s shoulder, Yaomomo could see her blasting away Spinner with a wall of pixelated, pastel green light. In a blur of white, Mirko dove at him as he backed off, kicking him away with a snap of her tanned, gloriously toned legs. She tumbled into a roll and jumped to her feet, completely unscathed. She flicked her long, white ears over her head, dusting them off. Meanwhile, her sidekicks ran after her, batting away the remaining small fry.

“Yaoyorozu and Shinsou, eh?” Mirko eyed the two over Peregrine’s shoulder. “Well, this should be easy. Ryuukyuu has Nejire-chan and Froppy already!”

“Don’t jinx it,” Peregrine grumbled, unfurling his left wing and whipping around to slice another villain across the chest with the sharp, metallic feather points.

“Nah. I could kick all these nasties to kingdom come, if be it!” Mirko’s confidence was infectious; after so long of feeling out of control, to see someone so confident in their success, in a good ending, offered Yaomomo a sense of relief. “Come on, I’ll take these two from here! Rose, Serp! Let’s get these kids outta here and beat some villain ass while we’re at it!”

“Got it!” The shorter grinned, while her taller friend sighed, bent over in exhaustion already. Nevertheless, they took over Peregrine and Pixel’s jobs of flanking the two and began to slowly continue circling back to the elevator.

“Gahh! Look out!” The brunette with a mask suddenly cried out, and Yaomomo turned to look up to whatever had struck such fear in the bright girl.

Another portal had opened up, and out poured a wave of Nomus.

“Wh-What?!” Her sidekick yelped, clutching her lance to her chest. “H-How-? Those are High-Ends!”

“Tou- Rose, could you trigger Syo to come out? We have to get out of here, and fast!” the shorter woman -presumably “Serp”, as Mirko called her, although Yaomomo hoped that wasn’t her entire hero name- exclaimed to her partner. Mirko was trying to hurry them along so they could escape faster without any injury from the League’s reinforcements, but the villains began storming their huddle, and even her expert martial art expertise could only get them so far so fast, forcing their advance to a slow shuffle. Yaomomo roundhoused a villain in the ribs before punching him in the face, sending him to the ground.

“I… Sure.” Yaomomo looked up to see Rose sniffing up a container of pepper. “Ahh… Achoo!” She sneezed, doubling over. As she straightened, there was a new and wicked sort of bloodlust in her expression.

“Haha! I’ve been kept out of the limelight for far too long!” Rose’s eyes lit up, suddenly confident and mad with energy. A frighteningly long tongue lolled out her mouth as her hoodie fell off her head. It was as if she were a different person.

She blinked, eyeing the lance in her hands and the ruined trial room they were in, as well as the hordes of villains surrounding them. One with gray, scaly skin was racing towards her, brandishing his metal claws. She huffed and tossed the lance on the ground, whipping a pair of silver scissors from her belt. "So we're fighting, eh?!" The maniac ran and met the villain midway, and in a swift whirl of platinum, he was lying on the ground, blood emerging from a startling number of wounds and soaking through his clothes.

“Syo! Stop there!” Serp ran up to Rose- _Syo?-_ Syo/Rose and grabbed her wrist from behind. Syo/Rose jumped and pulled back, turning to face her. “What did I tell you not two weeks ago, when you got your license returned?”

“...no cutting villains up into tiny bits?” Syo/Rose seemed to pout, her ridiculously long tongue lolling. “But Serpent! Hurting those- those tiny _children.”_ She tore her hand from Serpent’s and pointed her scissors at Yaomomo and Hitoshi, who were backed against a podium with Mirko keeping a close eye on them as she dueled a short but heavily built Nomu. “These sick creatures should be punished, and I’m just givin’ them a nice little- little- uh- _retribution!”_ She found her desired word with a wave of her bizarre weapon of choice. Her glare returned to the villain on the ground; she raised one foot and ground her heel into his rough cheek.

“Well, our job is to get these _children_ out of here.” Serpent grabbed Syo/Rose’s hand and dragged her back to Yaomomo and Hitoshi. “Let’s keep moving!”

"Um, Miss Serpent?" Syo/Rose was darting around them and effectively ruining any small fry who dared approach them while the stronger pros took on the Nomu, so as they began walking again, Yaomomo caught the brunette's attention. She looked over with inquisitive, olive eyes.

“Yeah?”

“If I may ask… what’s up with her?” Yaomomo pointed at Syo/Rose.

“Oh, Syo?” Serpent looked up to where the maroon-haired woman was knocking villains out of the way and clearing a steady path for the three. “She has D.I.D.. Dewrose was the one you met earlier. This is her alter, Genocider Syo. She’s… quite something.”

“I can tell.” Yaomomo watched Syo do her work and allowed her to guide them along. “It’s quite incredible to watch, honestly.”

“She’s strong no matter what, really.” There was a warm admiration creeping into Serpent’s voice, her eyes softening as she watched Syo slice up a villain. “I’ve known her for ages. She really is amazing.”

“‘Ay, Serpent’s Tongue!” Syo turned to them and called to her fellow sidekick. “Are you gonna walk along jabberin’, or are ya gonna help me get these kiddos to the exit?”

“A-Ah! Of course!” Serpent ushered the two survivors along with an outstretched arm. “Let’s go! Syo’s clearing the way for us!”

The four of them had nearly made it to the exit when they were inevitably intercepted.

“Well, well, well. Lookie here.” Dabi _tch_ed, his skin smoldering with blue flames. His icy pupils fixed on Yaomomo, then Hitoshi, then Serpent and Syo. “Sorry, but I can’t let our subjects escape.”

“Why are you doing this to us anyway..?” Hitoshi whimpered. He was clutching Serpent’s hand; she stepped forward in front of him. “Why..? Why make us suffer instead of killing us, like you killed everyone else?”

Dabi sighed. “All tests have subjects and factors, constants and and results. You’re the subjects of our test.” He readied a blaze in his palm, poising to throw it like a baseball. “And… despair is the result-!”

He released the flames, an inferno headed straight for the group of four, who scattered in opposite directions. Yaomomo dove to the ground by a podium; heat brushed her back and her calves. When her eyes snapped open, she found herself laying behind Syo. The latter’s cloak was draped over her, protecting her from the heat of the fire.

“Stay back there, Yaoyorozu!” Syo leaped to her feet while Yaomomo dragged herself to her own. The sidekick pulled out her scissors and made to run for Dabi. “I’ll kill you, villain hottie!”

Dabi huffed and fired flashes of cerulean flame towards her, bursts of light that she dodged with ease, running in a zigzag. She leaped at him; he dodged, attempted to burn her again, and she ducked to avoid it.

“Let’s run!” Serpent grabbed Hitoshi by the wrist and hurried over to Yaomomo. “Are you okay?! We have to go now, while Syo’s handling him!”

“Right..!” Yaomomo cast a glance over her shoulder as she ran, following Serpent and Hitoshi. Syo was still even with Dabi, neither managing to land a hit on the other.

However, when the three of them had only managed to run a few meters, Dabi huffed and whirled in a circle, spraying flames in a wide arc around him and incinerating everything within close proximity. Syo yelped and leaped back, but it was too late; her cloak had caught fire, as well as her leg.

“Syo!” Serpent yelped out and faltered, wide-eyed as she glimpsed her friend tumble a few meters away from her adversary. Yaomomo and Hitoshi halted as well, uncertain. _Should we run, before Dabi turns to us-?_

That second of hesitation, with Serpent distracted and Syo on the ground, allowed Dabi to turn and throw a second blade of blue towards them, an arc that curved around them and billowed inwards, forcing them to run away from the exit and back towards the podiums. Syo, who put out the fire on her clothes and was now limping steadily as she dashed towards him, and Serpent, screaming at the top of her lungs, were doing little to deter him. Mirko was nowhere to be seen.

“Come on, now…” Dabi huffed and fired off weaker spurts of flame, pushing Yaomomo and Hitoshi closer to the podiums. A well aimed, arching wave that crashed down upon them, much alike a real wave breaking against the coast, sent a jolt of panic through Yaomomo and drove her to jump over a podium, into the center of the vacant trial circle, while Hitoshi ran sideways.

“Y-Yaomomo!” She turned back to see Hitoshi yelling out to her. “Watch ou-!”

“I’ve got you right where I want,” Dabi growled, before blasting a wide plume of flame around Yaomomo, setting fire to the ring of podiums. Within seconds, the blaze, like an infectious disease, had spread to every piece of wood in the vicinity. Over the roar of the blaze and the ringing in her ears as heat began to flood her every pore, she could hear heroes and villains alike screaming outside the cage of ice-like fire.

“Say goodbye.” Dabi leaped over one smoldering podium and began to slowly stride towards her, sitting on the ground, her legs having given out in a fit of panic and exhaustion. Around them, heroes were beginning to attempt to put out the flames, water and sand alike pouring onto the blaze. Dabi huffed and easily sprayed more flames across the wood, setting it ablaze even stronger with each time it was extinguished. The brilliant, blue inferno was rising, trapping them. The floor, her skin, her hands, Dabi growing closer and closer to her- it was all cast in a vibrant, cerulean aura. Yaomomo could barely hear now; her head was pounding, her heart in her throat, running like a jackrabbit.

There was no escape.

She was trapped, and she was going to die.

**Again?**

**After everything, too, huh?**

**Pathetic, isn’t it?**

**Oh, how unlucky you are, you poor thing.**

Even seconds before her own death, the voices in her head wouldn’t shut up.

_Voices._ Were they mere voices, or were they the spirits of Kyouka and Cynthia beckoning her to hell?

She couldn’t tell and would never know.

“Why..?” Yaomomo’s voice rasped as she stared up at Dabi. She felt as if it were just her and the villain within their fiery prison, one whose key was the Detective’s bone, melded and carved using her blood as molten fuel for the furnace and her sternum as the sharpener. “Why are you… doing this to me..?”

“Didn’t Hitoshi ask the same thing two seconds ago? I already gave my answer.” Dabi hadn’t extinguished the flame in his smoldering hand, despite the burns starting to creep up his arm, but he was clearly in no hurry. Yaomomo’s heart was sinking with every passing second; there was no help for her now, not in this strange purgatory with no exit door.

“Why won’t you kill me already?” she whimpered. “Why have you… trapped me… alone?” Tears welled up in her eyes- out of despair or sorrow or fear or hate or just because the heat was getting to her, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it was everything hitting her at once, and her heart was unable to contain it all anymore, not after pretending to be strong for so long.

Dabi paused. “This is a test, and you are the subject.” A manic grin spread across his lips. “The variables are all in place- a trapped environment, alone with someone stronger than you, and the hope of rescue extinguished. And the result: you’re breaking apart.” He rose his hand, preparing to engulf her filthy, reanimated corpse of a body in an inferno of blood. “It’s truly beautiful, how even the strongest, the fittest of the fit, the _survivors,_ are so easily crushed.”

He brought his arm back a fraction of a centimeter, and the blaze erupted tenfold in his palm, engulfing his entire arm in blue tongues, each hotter than the last.

“Bye-bye, our dearest little detective.”

He swung, and Yaomomo squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself.

_I’m sorry, Shouto._

_I couldn’t escape like you so wished._

_I broke my own promise._

**You**_I’_**re**_m_ _j**u**st pathetic._

_ **Pathetic.** _

_ **Pathetic.** _

_ **Pathetic.** _

_ **Die now.** _

The blaze was about to engulf her, eat her alive, burn away her very soul, for there was no afterlife dark enough to house it.

_Except it didn’t._

For the second time that day, the pain never came, and this time, she didn’t want to know why.

She opened her eyes in time to see a smoldering body falling in front of her.

_N…_

_No…_

Red and white hair, silky even when ablaze with blades of sapphire, fluttered in the smoky, ember-strewn air.

_How..?_

He collapsed to the ground, writhing and struggling, shrieking as he struggled to put out the flames on his clothes, his skin, his body.

_I was alone! There’s no way he could’ve gotten in here!_

“Shouto!” Yaomomo cried out and desperately began stifling the flames with her skirt and hands, ignoring how they burned her skin and singed the cloth. Patting away at the blaze, it crackled and seemed to burn harder, if anything.

After a few seconds, she realized Dabi had stepped back. He was watching them with an icy expression, observing her futile attempts to put out the flame. “What are you doing?” she cried out, still trying to wrangle the fire. “Why aren’t you still trying to kill me?!”

Dabi merely shook his head and took another step back. She glared at him and returned her full, frenzied attention to Shouto. “Shouto, um- try to roll if you can and smother them!”

With difficulty, she managed to help Shouto roll back and forth until the flames had been reduced, at which point she stifled them with less difficulty. Panting, she pulled back to assess the damage.

It was horrific. He had pretty much ran sideways into the blaze and blocked most of it from striking Yaomomo, who was on the ground, so only his left side was burnt. Looking at herself, she was practically unscathed, much to her horror. Parts of Shouto’s clothes had been burned away, and what remained was horribly singed. His skin was a blistering, bubbling red, and blood dripped from where the blaze had burned into his flesh and cracked it like a desert’s earth. For a moment, Yaomomo was reminded of Kouji’s death, one she and Kyouka had mourned together.

There was nobody to mourn with her now, though. She was alone, trapped in an impenetrable cage of flame with a villain and her dying best friend, the single person she cared most about, the _one fucking person she had wanted to survive with her if she was forced to pick and choose between them._

“Shouto.” She stared at his bloody, burnt face. His hair was ashy at parts, and his breaths were coming out swift and shallow. A pitiful whimper escaped his throat. “Shouto, are you okay?!” Desperation seeped into Yaomomo’s voice. She knew better than to try to touch him, though. Most of his body was probably ravaged; she’d wager their severity likely exceeded any third-degree burns the local hospitals had ever seen before.

“I’m…” Shouto coughed and winced, the slightest movement aggravating the wounds tenfold. “I’m… sorry…”

“No, no, no, don’t give me any of that,” Yaomomo muttered. “Why would you jump in front of me?! How did you even get in here?!” Tears were flowing down her face, hotter and more blistering than even the cerulean flames that now imprisoned them. “Wh-Why..? Why would you do this?!”

“S-Sorry…” Shouto’s voice was small; weak. “I saw him trap you… while this hero, Medusa, was flying me out… so I made him drop me in.”

Yaomomo sobbed, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Her eyes burned; she couldn’t take them off of him, though, not even for a second- not when he was _dying_ for _her._ “Wh-Why... have you done this at all? _WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?!”_ she wailed over the roar of the fire behind her. _"WHY DID YOU BREAK YOUR PROMISE?! WHY?!”_ Her broke and tumbled to a whisper again; her hands raked through her hair and teardrops cascaded down her cheeks. “Why, why, why, why, why..?”

“You’re… asking a lot of things… from a dying man…” Shouto murmured. He was struggling to keep his eye open; the scarred side of his face was still bleeding, and his teal eye was squeezed shut, while sticky, pink fluid flowed over it. Yaomomo’s heart was pounding against her ribcage, and her palms were sweating. Her stomach flipped.

“There’s no way… you could die..!” Yaomomo sobbed. “Not after… after you promised us you’d see us out of here, not after Izuku..!”

“Ah… Izu… ku…” Despite himself, a tiny smile slipped onto Shouto’s face. “I… I just want to be with him again… Ever since his death…” A faint chuckle escaped his lips. “I’ll get to see him… and you can live… it all works out… right?”

_Oh… he’s never really let go of Izuku’s death this entire time, hasn’t he? Even if he said he has..._ “How are you so strong..?” A memory flashed through Yaomomo’s head, a memory of Shouto telling everyone to move on and let Izuku and Eijirou get what they wanted. _Was he lying? He must’ve been._ “Why do you keep fighting?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shouto was still smiling. “Even… if I want to give up… I can’t, can I? Not with everyone… relying on me… and you… it would be too villainous to do that, right?”

Yaomomo couldn’t reply to that. She could only sit and openly sob, tears falling to the ashen ground below while Shouto struggled to breathe. “I’m… sorry..!” she sobbed. “I love you! I love you more than anything in this world! P-Please… forgive me..!”

But when she opened her eyes, her vision blurry with tears and heat, Shouto’s eyes were shut.

“Shouto..?”

He didn’t respond.

“No… No, no, no, no, _NO!”_ she screamed, her voice rising with every word. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! SHOUTO! _SHOUTO!”_ She shook him by his unburned side, but he was limp as a ragdoll.

**He’s dead, you stupid girl, dead because of you.**

**You killed him.**

**You kill everyone, ruin everything.**

**It’s your fault.**

“Shut up!” Yaomomo screeched. Her throat was dry and raw, but she didn’t care. She tugged at her hair, raked her nails against her skull. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

“You poor, poor thing.” She barely registered Dabi’s voice as he strutted towards her. The flames were rising, growing taller and taller, higher and higher around her. “What despair, seeing your dearest _Shouto_ die because of you.” She didn’t have to look up to know that he was smirking, standing over her, a flame readied in his palm.

“I suppose I’ll just have to put you out of your misery. Sweet dreams, Yaomomo.”


	50. Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End - Part 2 - Deadly Life

_Fire. There's fire everywhere._

_Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire to the podiums, to the walls, the curtains, the books, the shelves, the body on the carpet, everything's on fire._

"P-P-Pretty..." Tsuyu stared at the blaze erupting throughout the trial room, cerulean flames leaping like fiery deer from podium to carpeting to curtains, filling the chamber with smoke and heat. Her ears rang; images were flying through her head, images she didn't want, sensations she wished she could forget but simply couldn't.

_"Shush." Yuga's voice was unlike his. A clammy hand was clamped over her mouth, and she found herself shoved into a space far too small for even her liking. She felt like the metal walls might close on her and trap her forever within the school, left to rot alive in musty shadow and muffled sound._

_Wordlessly, he led her along until they reached a vent. He flicked open the cover from inside, and a gust of heat billowed into the metal tunnel, as if he'd opened an oven. The scent of smoke made her choke and gag, coughing into her arm. The blaze made her dizzy, made her heart pound heavy against her ribs._

_"Look." Yuga backed out and pushed her against the vent. The bars were hot; she pulled back with a jolt, before easing forward slightly to peer about the room._

_It was the library. Everything was ablaze, crimson and amber tongues lapping away at the shelves, rug, and books._

_And there, between the shelves..._

_"Wh-What... is that..?"_

_Her eyes landed on the crumpled figure, blackened and ablaze, lying face-down on the round carpet. Blood pooled around it, boiling in the flames._

_"..." Yuga didn't reply. He dragged her out and shoved her along, back the way they came. She heard him close the vent behind them; the stuffy, sickeningly feverish warmth in the cramped space dispersed, and she could do nothing but crawl along._

_The image of the corpse, burnt and still, lying in the center of the flames, though, never quite left her mind._

Claustrophobia closed in on Tsuyu, heat and the smell of blood wreathing around her like chains and ensnaring her in its blistering fingers. She was alone. She was lost, and it was just her and the fire closing in. Images swam before her, bright in color and much too loud; Yuga was reaching out to her, his eyes blank and unseeing; Kouji was crawling towards her, his face blackened and coated with blood, one hand ablaze with violet flames reaching towards her, begging for help that she couldn't give.

"Tsu! Tsu!" And suddenly someone was shaking her by the shoulder. She tore her gaze away from the ghosts, from the flames, instead finding them locked with Nejire's wide, cerulean eyes. She wore a small frown. "Are you okay?! We have to run!"

"O-Okay!" As she tried to move, though, she found her feet unfeeling as they grasped for footing, sending her tripping to the fiery ground. _N-No! They're... going to catch me..!_ "N-Nejire! Help me, please!"

Wordlessly, Nejire scooped up Tsuyu -with difficulty- and began to stagger towards where Ryuukyuu was fighting off one of the High End Nomu. Wrapped in her arms, she felt marginally more secure; the ghosts couldn't get Nejire, because she couldn't see them. Tsuyu was safe, for the time being.

She pressed her face into Nejire's chest and merely opted to listen to her and the dragon's exchange.

"I'll fly you two out of here!" Ryuukyuu called. Nejire let go of Tsuyu and hastily helped her atop the hero's back, before hopping on as well and wrapping her arms around her. Ryuukyuu growled and took off, shaking the Nomu off of her tail and flying towards the hole in the ceiling.

They made it into the lobby before a second portal, smaller than the last, appeared in the wall. "Wh-"

Before Tsuyu could even speak, a trio of Nomu leaped out of the void, descending upon Ryuukyuu in a flurry of teeth and brains. Nejire yelped and grabbed Tsuyu, rolling off of the dragon's back as the Nomu attacked, biting and clawing at her scales, drawing hot pink blood almost instantly. The liquid trickled down her peach body, rolling off her talons as she retaliated.

"Run, Nejire, Tsu!" she screeched. Tsuyu couldn't do anything but clutch Nejire's hand and wait for her to move. The bluette was hesitating; she didn't want to leave her alone to fight off the three beasts.

But the ghosts were coming. Yuga and Kouji were crawling out of the rubble-circled hole that led to the trial room- they had to hurry, lest they catch her. She tugged insistently on Nejire's hand; the buzzing in her ears, the senseless garble Yuga and Kouji emitted drowned out everything else. Ryuukyuu was saying something to Nejire; Nejire was yelling back.

"Nejire..." Tsuyu's whimpering went unheard. "Nejire..!"

The viridian-haired girl huddled behind the bluette, waiting for her to make her move. "She's not giving up," she murmured as Ryuukyuu vanished in a writhing mass of the Nomu's black bodies and golden eyes. "Neither should we! Let's go, Tsu!"

She couldn't have been more relieved when Nejire squeezed her hand and bolted for the exit across the lobby. Tsuyu ran toe-in-toe with her; _will the ghosts leave when I get out of here? Are they trapped here? Or will they follow me forever?_

_I don't know..._

_I hope they won't chase me..!_

She was running, running, running, eyes alight as she glimpsed the sunshine peeking over the rubble that nearly concealed the exit, and-

_BAM._

_Oh... they got me._

Pain exploded like a rapidly blossoming flower from Tsuyu's back. It burned like the library fire, but ten times as brightly; flames erupted through her body, eating away her flesh, her veins, her bones, her very being. She cried out and staggered, falling to the ground. _No! Kouji's going to catch me..!_

She could see Nejire halt and turn around from her place on the floor. Her chest heaved; her heart seemed to throb with pain. _No... No, Yuga, please..! Let me go!_

_I..._

_I just want... to be normal..._

_Why... do you haunt me..?_

"..." There was no reply. Darkness was spreading into her vision, engulfing her from her peripheral inwards. She thought she could see blood on the floor around her. _They... they're killing me..._

Nejire was staggering away, running from the ghosts. _Finally... she can see them too..._

_What if it was just a curse.... and I've passed it on to her by dying..?_

_Ah... I'm so sorry, Nejire..._

As her vision went black, the buzzing in her ears suddenly stopped.

All was quiet. All was cold. All was still.

_The ghosts are gone, at last._

***

"Run, Nejire, Tsu!" Ryuukyuu screamed, whirling about in a blur of blood and scales and fangs as the Nomu descended upon her dragon form in a horde. Nejire whimpered, hesitating, her heart in her throat. She clutched Tsuyu's hand with all her might.

They'd made it out of the trial room, as Shouto planned, but a horde of Nomu had emerged from a portal in the foyer, and they were halted amidst hills of rock and ruin. There were heroes and villains alike fighting all around them, and countless bodies laid limp on the dusty floor. Nejire didn't want to know if they were dead or not.

The Nomu were back at it, biting and stabbing at her massive, scaly body with fangs and teeth and quirks. "Nngh-!" Ryuukyuu writhed under the massive, black beasts- with every one she threw off with a whip of her tail, another took its place, and the one she'd tossed would return for its vengeance. "Run, Nejire! Run! Get Tsu out of here! Leave me!"

"Ryuukyuu, I can't-!"

"Yes, you can!" The Dragon Hero let out a cry and unfurled her wings, dislodging a few of the mutants. "Remember Eri's rescue party?! We wouldn't give up until we got her out, even if she didn't want to be saved! This is the same! Run, before they catch you!"

And then she vanished under a swarm of the scaly, shadowy Nomu, wailing and writhing. "She's not giving up..! Neither should we! Let's go, Tsu!"

Taking the shorter's hand, Nejire bolted for the exit, a massive hole where the door once sat.

_There was light._

_Right. What time is it? It must be afternoon... is it spring yet? Have the sakura bloomed? Or have they already fallen?_ The scattered rays of sunshine that streamed into the broken lobby revived a shrapnel of the curiosity that once filled the blue-haired girl. _I want to know... I want to see the sakura with Tsu and Yaomomo and Shouto and Hitoshi..!_

"Not so fast."

Everything happened in a blur.

The first thing she registered was the sound of a gunshot.

The second thing was Tsuyu crying out.

The third; the Swimmer crumpled, her hand falling from Nejire's, causing her to stumble. She turned back to see her collapsed on the floor, chest heaving.

There was a massive gunshot wound in her back, gushing magenta, soaking through her clothes and hair and spreading onto the floor.

The fourth was another gunshot.

_And a flash of pain in her shoulder._

She whirled around to glimpse her attacker, despite the flaring agony that filled her body to the brim like a cup overfilling with lava, bones of glass melting as molten pain flooded over the edge. The wound blistered against her senses, like a mouth filled with fangs were locked on her flesh.

There was a girl, wearing a purple blazer and white blouse, black hair draping over her shoulders, longer than she'd last seen it, accented with a singular streak of pink, as pink as blood, contrasting her generally dark appearance.

Her crimson eyes gleamed with glee.

_That's impossible... I must be dreaming..._

"Ahahahahaha! I tricked y'all good, didn't I?!" Tooru was holding a gun, the black implement smoking. She clutched her shoulder with her other hand, the force of the shot likely having sprained it, but there was delight in her expression, in her toothy grin, vampire-like molars gleaming in the shaft of sunlight that glowed against her tan skin. "I tricked you _so_ good! Oh my god, you should see your face right now!"

"N-No... You're..." Nejire couldn't do much but whimper a few strangled words. Her head was spinning, her vision blurring, ears ringing. Agony pulsed through her body, strangling her muscles with burning, blistering pain, like a hundred needles and more, like red-hot venom flooding her veins.

"Dead? Are you dumb? Or is the poison already kicking in? I'm alive, and I just _shot_ you." She lowered the gun, rubbing her shoulder and arm. "Damn, that thing hurt like a bitch. Whatever."

"Poison..?" Blood flowed down Nejire's arm, soaking her robe with a sickening dark pink. "How..?"

She scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? After the tank filled up, a panel opened up and let me out, a hidden contraption pumped more liquid into the tank to maintain the blood level, yada yada yada. There's many things that could've been done to keep the League's longtime ally alive. It's my machine, after all." She grinned and glanced down at her smoking gun.

"But... you didn't answer my first question..."

"Oh, the poison? No need to worry about that. I expect you and your little friend to be saying bye-bye pretty soon." Tooru offered her a reassuring grin.

Nejire's heart dropped into her stomach.

_No..._

_No, I can't die here, I can't let Tsu die..!_

"Sweet dreams! Nice seeing you two again!" Tooru grinned and ran away, leaving Nejire alone with Tsuyu collapsed on the ground.

"..." Nejire's vision was blurring, black spots swimming about her peripheral, threatening to spread like a disease. Her entire body ached; her knees felt like they would give out at any moment. Her shoulder burned like hellfire itself, as if ants were eating out her flesh and bones. "I have to get out of here..."

In a frenzied rush, she staggered for the exit, for the hole in the wall, reaching desperately for the sunshine that beckoned her like a song.

She stumbled through a mess of trenches and pits to emerge onto the brick path.

_It's... a beautiful day..._

It was indeed already spring; the air was fresh with the tang of new leaves and a hint of summer's approach. The sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in sight. The sun shone, bright and selflessly offering the people with her smile, high in the endless dome of blue, a gorgeous blue bluer than Nejire's hair. As she staggered out onto the path, a perfectly cool breeze gracing her lungs with a breath of life, she found herself smiling, despite the tears slipping down her face and the burning world of _pain_ writhing within her shoulder like a worm, an infectious spawn.

_The sky... is still blue... And the sun still shines..._

_I'm so happy..._

Her vision was flickering, her body going numb. The burning of the bullet wound in her shoulder, spreading venom throughout her every limb, was reduced to a consistent throb. _Am I getting better?_

_Maybe I won't die..._

_..._

_Tsuyu..._

_I left her in the lobby..._

_Why did I leave her..?_

_No... I should... go back and get her..._

But as she tried to turn, she found herself crumpling to the ground, the sun-soothed stone freezing cold against her feverish skin, the spring breeze embracing her in its gentle, welcoming hands, ready to take her away.

_No..._

...

...

...

Darkness dragged her away, away from the welcoming sun and sky.

_I'm sorry I failed you, Tsu..._

_But at least... I got to see the sky one last time._

***

Hitoshi could only stare as Dabi encircled Yaomomo in cerulean flame, a blaze hotter than any he'd seen before, one that now trapped the Detective in a living ravine of death. "Yaomomo!" he screamed over the roar of the fire. "Yaomomo!"

_God, why?! Why did it have to end up like this?!_

_Run... I have to run..!_

But where? Where was he supposed to run?

The heroes? It was the smartest choice, but he couldn't bear to leave behind Yaomomo in this room of hell. He couldn't possibly make it to her, either; the flames were rising, and they were too high for him to jump.

_Why can't I save even one person, one person who was right in front of me?!_

_Why can't I save anyone..?!_

Tears flooded his eyes, and he quickly swiped them away on his sleeve before turning back to the flames, back to the place he'd seen Yaomomo vanish behind a wall of heat. "No... I'm strong..."

Despite his own words, he wasn't sure what to do.

_Should I stay or go? Do I run or fight?_

_What do I do?!_

_What is a stupid follower like me supposed to do?!_

_I couldn't save anyone... I couldn't do anything..!_

_It would be so unfair if- if she died, and I lived running away from her..._

He wasn't going to run, he couldn't.

But to fight? No, he likely couldn't do that either. Not when these villains all had quirks and muscles ten times more built than his. He'd lost weight during the Game, too; it wasn't like he was in his prime, and even if he was, he'd still get his ass beat.

"Denki... I wish you were here..."

...

_Denki._

Hitoshi whirled around and broke into a sprint around the podium circle, weaving through villains and heroes alike, ignoring the battles waging around him in a warscape. He didn't care about this anymore, didn't care about escaping. If Yaomomo wasn't escaping with them, then there was no way he could, too.

And suddenly he found himself standing over Denki's body, lying in a dark crater filled with his own blood. He gently scooped up the collar lying on the ground as he kneeled before him.

"Denki. I'm back."

He curled up next to the blonde, clutching the collar in one hand and stroking Denki's hair with the other. "I won't leave you again, I promise."

...

In the end, Hitoshi's marred corpse lay side by side with his friend's, his pale, blood-splattered hand still clutching the collar.

***

"Sweet dreams, Yaomomo."

Yaomomo staggered to her feet as the villain advanced, stumbling back from Shouto's body. "No... no..!"

"It's over." Dabi hefted a handful of flames in his marred hand. "Shouto is dead. And you are still trapped." He glanced around their fiery arena. In the sapphire light of the ocean-tinted tongues, lapping hungrily at all scraps of oxygen in the room, Yaomomo found herself trapped in a world of blue, blue, blue. "Just let me make this quick. Your use in this experiment is over."

She could only stand still as he raised his palm and gently blew on it, casting a plume of cerulean blaze over her body.

The fire swallowed her whole in a second, causing her to stumble down, her arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Yaomomo didn't have the energy to cry out; she allowed the inferno of sapphires to surround her, cocoon her in its hands so blisteringly hot that it felt like the cold brush of ice. Her eyes were shut- if she were to try and see, she was pretty sure her corneas would be burned away in a blink.

_Ah. I'm really dying, aren't I..?_ She was starting to lose feeling, the blistering cold turning to nothingness. It was all gray. Everything was disappearing into a void of silver, of shadows. _I'm... really dying..._

_I'll see you on the other side... Shouto._

_Just as you promised._

That's when it all disappeared.

Every memory she'd made, every tear she'd shed, every time she'd laughed or played or fought or simply _lived_ was gone. It didn't matter now; nothing did. Death took everything from its victims, stripped them of all they once held dear and dropped it down the drain, leaving only their pitiful soul.

A soul. _What is a soul?_ A body did things, a brain thought and experienced things, a heart felt things. What did the soul do? Nothing, it seemed. Nothing but hold the very existence of the person it clutched within its astral bubble, a delicately woven, teardrop jewel.

Do you drop it, allowing a person's existence to vanish forever, forgotten by all, a legacy untold and lost in the folds of history, or do you idolize it and place it in a museum for all to admire?

The soul would never know.

Only those who still existed would know.

***

The trial room was a wreck.

Tsukauchi stepped gingerly through the ruins, the entire room cast in a heavenly sort of light by one of the police officers' quirks. The lights upstairs were on, but they had cast only a stunted, white glow over the rocks and dozens of bodies lying in the mess. Behind him, Tsurugamae and his force fanned out throughout the chamber.

"I hate to say it, but this place only reeks of death," Kyouko Kirigiri murmured, her lilac-hair swaying as she strolled on light feet at Tsukauchi's side. Her violet eyes darted from side to side; she clutched a gun in her gloved hand, in case of another ambush. "Looking for two kids amidst all this..." she gestured vaguely at the dozens of villain and hero corpses that decorated the rocks. "It's like looking for a baby in the woods, except a baby cries. Bodies don't."

"Try to be a little more hopeful, Kyouko," Tsukauchi chided with no emotion behind his words. "Maybe they're unconscious. You really never know."

She had a good point, though. The other subjects, Hadou and Asui and Shinsou and Kaminari- they were all found earlier, their bodies lying in the open. Hadou and Asui were discovered alive, but they died in the ambulance, before they even reached the hospital. Poisoning and blood loss, the doctors reported. Shinsou and Kaminari were found dead together. Amidst all the chaos that was Dabi's pyromaniacal fire-setting to everything that was flammable in the room, two students weren't found.

Could he really imagine those two kids alive in this mess, especially with their friends already sleeping in a morgue and the through-the-roof number of _professional_ hero casualties?

"Kirigiri, Tsukauchi! I think I found one of them!" Shuichi Saihara called from the center of the room, snapping him out of his train of thought. Tsukauchi and Kyouko looked over to see him and Chihiro Fujisaki hovering in the trial circle, among a heap of wreckage. A few meters away from them, Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Oowada examined something on the ground, but nothing large enough to be a conceivable body was there.

"They fit the description perfectly, sir," Chihiro reported as they approached; around them, the floating orbs of light that ringed the walls flickered as he opened his glowing eyes to greet his superiors with a slight bow. "A girl wearing a dress, albeit severely burnt, and a boy with red and white hair."

Tsukauchi peered over Shuichi's shoulder to see him prying aside fallen rocks from around the limp, burnt form of a boy on the ground. The dark-haired young man stepped aside and allowed his mentors to identify the body. His arms were crossed and he wore a anxious expression. "This is Endeavor's son, I think."

Sure enough, it was. Leaning over him, Tsukauchi made out his singed, red and white hair. He wore attire fit for a prince, a blue tunic with gold trim. The clothes were ruined, though, scraps of it burned away and the rest ashen. Bright red blisters covered his skin; even looking at them, caked in dry blood, made Tsukauchi feel sick. He could only imagine how much it hurt, or how hot Dabi's flames were.

"Kyouko. Go examine Taka and Mondo's find." The lilac-haired woman uttered a small "Yes" and could be heard hurrying away. Tsukauchi returned his full attention to the boy on the ground. Shouto Todoroki, that was his name. Endeavor's son. A victim of the Killing Game.

_Dead._

Well, probably dead, if the burns suggested anything. Gingerly, Tsukauchi reached out and pressed his fingers against Shouto's pale, reddened neck. He'd be darned if he could even find the artery, much less find a-

_A pulse._

"He has a pulse," the detective murmured, awestruck for a moment. But there was no mistaking it; the artery on the boy's burnt neck was twitching, just slightly, just enough to tell him he was alive. His head snapped up to a wide-eyed Shuichi and Chihiro. "He has a pulse! Get a medic!"

"Wh- That's- I mean, um, yes! I-I'll call them in!" Chihiro fumbled to grab his walkie-talkie from his belt. "U-Um, Officer Fujisaki reporting! Missing Persons B has a pulse! Get a medic to site two, now! Hurry! O-Over!" He clutched the device with a shaking hand. The light in the room flickered.

"He's... _alive?"_ Shuichi asked Tsukauchi, incredulous. He was kneeling by Shouto's body now, staring at him as if he might open his eyes at any second.

"Yeah. The pulse is weak, but he's definitely alive. Unconscious and in serious condition, but still there." As Tsukauchi pulled his hand back from Shouto's neck and slipped his glove back on, Kyouko came rushing back from Taka and Mondo, who were still hovering over the second body a short distance away.

"Missing Persons A, Momo Yaoyorozu, has not had her body found. However, Taka and Mondo discovered a large heap of ash, and within it, bone and scraps of cloth. I suspect she was burned to cinders." Kyouko reeled off the details. Her voice was monotonous; a perfect poker face. "I heard Shuichi say the Todoroki is alive. Is that so?"

"Yeah. He's in tough shape, but I think he'll live. I've seen worse survive." Tsukauchi got up and backed off as medics hurried down with a stretcher. They gently moved the burned body onto the cloth, before rushing away just as quickly.

Tsukauchi let his gaze linger on the medics, disappearing with Shouto overhead. He could hear the sirens and people shouting, and he could tell Kyouko was watching them take the boy away, too, with the cold stare she always wore. _Maybe there is some emotion behind that mask of hers._ "Even when all is lost, someone always breaks through the dark with a light. If there's anything I've learned, it's that."

Two girls, shot dead with poisonous bullets, one with a foot out the door, one collapsed in the lobby.

Two boys, one dead from trauma and burn wounds inflicted by a bomb, the other mutilated by a villain, crumpled side by side.

A girl, a Detective, cremated alive.

What was the price paid for the one survivor of the fight, one so marred he would likely never truly recover, never escape the game? What was the price paid for the first boy, the poor blonde who had escaped the game so long ago and uttered words of murder and sin, the one who was now silent and unspeaking?

Was it too much?

Tsukauchi didn't know. The weight of lives against each other was always a difficult thing.

Was this a success, or a loss?

Was one supposed to grieve the twenty-two who had been massacred, or celebrate the two that now lived, both ruined beyond recognition?

Maybe they both meant the same.

Maybe it never mattered anyway.

***

Life is a game, and the soul is a measure of the points you earned.

Get a high score, and you'll be immortalized in a glass case atop a velvet cushion.

Make a single mistake, and you're shattered on the stone-cold floor, fated to lie among a sea of the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of shards of gemstones that were dropped as well.

_You've reached the end of the road._

_>Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End : The End | Surviving Students : 3<_

_>GAME OVER<_

_>Menu_

_Restart_

_Quit<_

_..._

_>Restart : Confirm?<_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_>Restarting...<_


	51. Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End - Part 2 - Deadly Life

"Sweet dreams, Yaomomo."

Yaomomo staggered to her feet and stumbled back from Shouto's body as the villain advanced. "No... no..!"

"It's over." Dabi hefted a handful of flames in his marred hand. "Shouto is dead. And you are still trapped." He glanced around their fiery arena. In the sapphire light of the ocean-tinted tongues, lapping hungrily at all scraps of oxygen in the room, Yaomomo found herself trapped in a world of blue, blue, blue. "Just let me make this quick. Your use in this experiment is over."

"No... I..!" As Dabi blasted a plume of cerulean flame at her, Yaomomo yelped and ran, scrambling away from Shouto and nearly colliding with a blazing podium. She jumped back, her feet numb, tears dripping down her face that she didn't bother to wipe away. Her hands were shaking, palms sweaty. "No, no, no! I don't want to-!"

"Give it up," Dabi drawled. "Shouto died because of you. Tamaki died because of you. Come and die already, like Fumikage did before you, like Ochako and Izuku and all your little friends. Don't you want to join them?"

The villain's words rang, sharp as daggers, in Yaomomo's ears as she _ran,_ ran ran ran from him and the blasts of flame that chased her like a cat chased a mouse. She stumbled, faltering with each passing, undeserved heartbeat.

_"Don't you want to join them?"_

She did, she truly did, Yaomomo decided, images of Kyouka and Denki and Cynthia and Shouto, _dear Shouto_ burning into the backs of her eyelids. She had no reason to keep fighting; she'd failed in the end, failed herself by saying yes and driving that knife into Tamaki's head, failed everyone else when they realized she had been lying this whole time.

**You just want to escape, don't you?**

**No matter who has to die along the way.**

She tripped, tumbling to the burning floor. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dabi advancing, growing closer and closer with every step he took, the flames he wielded getting closer and closer to burning her alive.

But they never did.

_Why do they never strike?_

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." There was a flurry of crimson, and in a split second there was a man between her and the ravenette, shielding her in the shadow of a massive pair of wings, the feathers sharper than blades and redder than a tropic sunset. "These kids are coming with us."

"I don't see you doing much, birdbrain," Dabi scoffed as Yaomomo shakily rose to her feet behind Hawks. "Feathers burn, y'know?"

"But of course." In a flash, the hero suddenly turned around and grabbed Yaomomo before going airborne, easily sliding her into a bridal carry in his stable, secure arms. "We're getting you and your friends outta here, 'kay?" he said, this time to her. She looked up at his face through his visor; he offered her a small quirk of his lips, his chocolate eyes smiling down at her.

"..." She didn't exactly know how to respond, but he looked as confident as Mirko in his ability to rescue her, to act as the hero of the day for her. "Shouto..." she muttered, her lips forming the words as if they were ghosts upon her tongue. "He's dead... down there..."

"Ah, Enji's son?" Hawks clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He twirled in midair, sending a row of feathers down in an arc to combat a wave of flame. "We'll send someone down to get him. Dabi has no reason to burn a corpse now, does he?"

Yaomomo stayed silent while Hawks whisked her away, hooking over the top of the blaze that engulfed the trial room and diving up, up to the ground floor and outside.

_The sky... is so bright..._ Yaomomo flinched and squeezed her eyes shut when he first carried her out the hole in the wall and under the sun. As she slowly opened them, she found herself under an infinite dome of blue, richer than the flames that had threatened to eat her alive and clearer than the tears that now evaporated from her sheet-white skin. There wasn't a cloud to be seen as Hawks gently lowered her onto a patch of grass by the brick walkway leading to the building. As she looked up, glancing at the smoking building behind her and the hordes of heroes and emergency workers scattered across the lawn, a breeze ruffled her uncombed hair, causing her ponytail to flutter against her neck. "Spring, huh..?"

"Hm?" Hawks glanced down at her as he pulled back. She could hear sirens now, as well as far too many voices to count; more voices than the number that had ever filled that wretched trial room.

"It's spring. I can... I can smell it in the air." The fresh tang of leaves and new life danced across her nose. "It's... very nice." She blinked, suddenly confused. "But what happened to the months of snow..? Last I was outside, there was snow..."

Hawks gazed sympathetically down at her with a pitiful expression. He looked like he wanted to say more when a flurry of footsteps suddenly halted right behind her. She looked up to see several doctors hovering over her and Hawks, who was still kneeling beside her.

"Missing Persons A, Momo Yaoyorozu," the winged hero informed them. "She has no visible injuries. Are you hurt anywhere?" He returned his attention to her.

"Just... my head..." It was true; her head was starting to pound. The sudden light was a bit too strong for her eyes to handle. "It's the sun... it's too bright..."

"That's to be expected, Miss Yaoyorozu," one nurse said. She looked to the blonde hero. "Let's get her to the ambulance now."

"W-Wait!" Yaomomo cried out, causing Hawks to halt as he began to scoop her up again. "My friend... Shouto Todoroki... he's still in there..." She found herself selfish for requesting they find him as soon as the words left her mouth. _It's my fault._

"No worries, Ma'm, we've got heroes in there recovering all of the survivors," the nurse soothed.

"He's dead," Hawks suddenly cut in. "I saw him. Dabi, the villain with the fire quirk, burned him pretty badly."

_It's my fault._

"O-Oh..." The nurse seemed stunned for a moment, unable to find words to offer Yaomomo. "I'm... I'm so sorry," she finally managed.

"It's fine."

_It's my fault, my fault, all my fault..!_

"Medics! I require a medic, now!" A second voice suddenly rose from behind them, back at the school. Yaomomo's head snapped around, causing another surge of pain to her head, but she ignored it, for the blurry sight that greeted her overwhelmed all other thoughts in her brain.

There was another hero, one with golden, feathery wings similar to Hawks's. He had dirty blonde hair and wore a translucent visor, one that showed his sharp, blue eyes behind them. In his arms was Shouto, _her_ Shouto, burned and beaten, limp and still as a corpse. Yaomomo watched as a group of doctors swarmed out from behind her and met the hero midway down the brick path, crowding around the boy. For a moment, they were still, before one jolted up and ran for the ambulance.

"Eh?" The ravenette observed as he grabbed a stretcher with another doctor and rushed back to Shouto, gently lowering him onto it and hurrying for one of the many vehicles waiting outside the gate. Hawks wordlessly got up and intercepted one of the other medics that had greeted the dead Theorist and the hero who'd picked him up. "What's happening? Why are they taking the body to the hospital?" Yaomomo mumbled from her place on the ground, her legs too weak to lift her to her feet. She tugged at Hawks's jacket hem, but he ignored her, exchanging hushed words with the medic.

As the medic rushed away, the crimson-winged hero turned around and knelt to face the Detective. "Well, you've got good news. He's not dead."

"..." Yaomomo blinked at him. Once, twice. "What?"

"That Todoroki's not dead, Miss Yaoyorozu." Hawks smiled. "I suppose all of them are quite accustomed to fire after all, even if that kid refused his power until his outburst on live TV a few months back."

"No, no, they've got to be mistaken..! He's dead! I watched him die!" Yaomomo cried out, tears welling in her eyes. The blonde man eyed her with concern, a frown tugging his lips down. "I watched him die! He jumped in front of me, took a hit from Dabi! He can't be alive! He died for me, I killed him! _I KILLED HIM!"_

Droplets cascaded down her face, washing clean streaks on her skin, and the words were torn from her smoke-raw throat like knives. Hawks reached out to touch her, maybe place a hand on her shoulder, but she jumped back and slapped his hand away. "I KILLED HIM! STOP LYING TO ME!"

"Yaoyorozu, calm down!" he hissed. She was sure heads were beginning to turn at the sight of a survivor of the infamous Killing Game yelling at her savior -the number two hero, at that- but she didn't really care. "He had a _pulse!_ If that's not alive, I don't know what is!"

"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME!" Yaomomo sobbed. "I KILLED HIM! I WATCHED HIM DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! HE'S DEAD, DEAD, DEAD! I KNOW A DEAD PERSON WHEN I SEE ONE! I-" She broke down coughing, her throat dry from the flames and burning from her screaming. "I've seen your intern get torn apart in front of me!" she rasped, and through her tear-blurred glare she could see Hawks's eyes widen. He flinched at the mention of Fumikage. "I've seen my best friend with her guts on the floor! I've seen my own hand drive a knife in Suneater's skull!"

"You're just delirious from the smoke, I'm sure," the hero tried to soothe, but she squirmed away from him, stumbling to her feet. Hawks leaped up and opened his wings, slowly approaching her as if she were a fearful, rabid animal. She scurried away and began to run down the path, only to stumble on the uneven ground when she'd taken not even four steps. "Yaoyorozu!"

"Go away!" she wailed, dragging herself to her feet despite her scraped knees and making for the ambulance beyond the gate. "They can't take him away! He's dead, he's _mine!_ They're lying, lying, lying!"

"They aren't! Why won't you listen?!" Hawks sighed as she tripped and fell a second time, hauling her up despite her writhing in protest. "Sheesh, you're feistier than anybody I've ever rescued. Not even a cat struggled this much with me," he huffed, fighting to contain her before she landed on the concrete again and hurt herself. A second hero hurried over- Ryuukyuu, Yaomomo realized in her delirious fit as she tried to kick her way out of Hawks's too-strong arms. "Ryuko- help me out here with her! She's a little spitfire if I'd ever met one!"

"Strange. Last I recalled, she was expected to be the calmest of the group." Ryuukyuu was perfectly composed as she gently took Yaomomo's arm, somehow holding her in place with an iron grip despite her own bandages and the girl's squirming. Yaomomo felt something numbing pierce her arm, and almost immediately her senses blurred. Her limbs grew unresponsive to her fight. "Apologies, Yaoyorozu, but we're going to have to put you to bed for now. Relax."

As the dark consumed her and her eyelids slipped shut, she thought the dragon lady's voice brushed her ears a third time.

"You deserve it."

_>Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End : The End | Surviving Students : 6 | To Be Continued<_

_>Item Obtained : Red Feather<_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note - in this ending, tooru is not seen alive by yaomomo, so she isn't counted in the survivor count, but she _is_ alive. she's just unaccounted for.


	52. Epilogue : Sakura Blossoms at Dawn and Dusk - Part 1

When Yaomomo came to, she was lying in a bed.

"Ngh..." She blinked open her iron-heavy eyelids, only to find herself staring up at a sterile, white ceiling. Bars of golden sunlight danced across the plaster, teasing her unaccustomed vision like pesky fairies. "Where..?"

She rubbed her silver eyes open and sat up. She was lying in a bed, within a warm, whitewashed room. A few feet from the foot of her bed, against the wall, there was a desk, a sofa, and a cabinet. The massive windows to her right were covered in curtains that failed to block out the sun outside.

"What is this place..? It's not in the school..."

Then it hit her.

_Right._

Denki destroying Monokuma and getting blown up. Getting attacked by Dancing Death. Being escorted by Peregrine and Pix, and then Syo and Serpent- and Dabi, capturing her in a wall of flame. It was so vivid, so raw in the forefront of her brain, that she had to lay back down and run through her thoughts, figure out all the facts before the photos fell out of the album in a jumbled mess.

Considering the plain room, she was likely in the hospital. She reached up and ran her fingers down her face; there were bandages over her cheek, where Dancing had cut her. Otherwise, she was unscathed. "Shouto..." The sight of him jumping in front of her and taking Dabi's attack, of his corpse being carried away on a stretcher, returned to her mind. _They took him from me._ "I have to find him... I have to stop them..."

She quickly got up and slipped out of the sheets, ignoring how her vision blurred at the sudden motion. The sunlight in the room wasn't exactly helping either. _What time is it?_ She tugged back to the corner of the curtains to see a surprisingly pale sky, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. It cast a flower of radiance over the cityscape around her, slicing through the dull blue of the dome above. _It's too bright..._ She tugged the curtains back again and set her bare feet onto the ground. "Ah... it's cold... Where are my shoes?"

Her entire outfit had changed while she was asleep, it seemed. Instead of the blouse, skirt, leggings, and boots she donned throughout the entire Game, she was now clad in a plain, blue hospital gown. "They took my clothes... Oh well. I'll find them later."

Ignoring how the slick, cold tiles shot jolts of ice up her legs with every step she took, Yaomomo began to make her way around the bed and to the door. She exited into the hallway, where the floor changed color to a pleasant pastel teal and the walls a warm beige. Shutting the door behind her with a soft _click,_ she found herself staring at a profile within a clear, plastic pocket.

_'Patient 10-A: Momo Yaoyorozu  
Diagnosis:  
Admitted 20xx 年 4月 7日  
Notes: '_

Both of the lines for the diagnosis and notes were blank. "It's April already, huh?" Yaomomo tore her gaze away from her patient summary. "Last I checked, it was December."

She began to slowly walk down the hall on her toes, her gait steadying as her feet grew used to the freezing cold and her steps grew smaller and quicker. "Shouto... and Nejire, and Hitoshi and Tsu... where are you?" she mumbled. She didn't have to look very far to find one of them, though; the next door over from Yaomomo's, just a few full strides to her left, was Nejire's.

She'd only placed her hand on the doorknob when a second set of footsteps, much more solid and precise, made her jump. She whirled around to see a young woman wearing a loose, silver blouse and a black skirt and tights. She had short, black hair and a freckled face. Most curious, though, was that her hands were like gauntlets. They were slender, plated with metal. Her fingertips looked like caps; her right index finger's was flicked up, revealing what seemed to be a gun barrel within. "Ah. A patient." The silver-eyed guard capped her metal finger, releasing her battle-ready stance. "Momo Yaoyorozu, isn't it?"

"...yes." Yaomomo was on edge; who was this lady? How did she know her name? What was she doing here, in this hero-run hospital, where everyone was supposed to be safe?

The ravenette's dazed eyes then landed on a golden badge on the unknown woman's chest. _Guard 1-A. Mukuro Ikusaba._ "What do you want... Ms. Ikusaba?"

"..." Mukuro's steely eyes softened; she looked more approachable now, almost shy, tucking her metal hands behind her back. "I was told that the new patients were to stay in their rooms until further notice from the doctors. If you need something, you need not hesitate to ask."

"I have to see my friends," Yaomomo explained. "I have to make sure they're okay... and I have to find Shouto. Shouto Todoroki, do you know where he is?" she inquired. "They took him from me, they took his dead body. I have to find him."

Mukuro sighed, deflating slightly. "I'm sorry, but you're not permitted to see them yet. Doctor's orders." She stepped forward, tugging a pair of black gloves from her belt and sliding them over her metal hands. She offered one open palm to Yaomomo. "Come along. I will escort you back to your room."

"No..." Yaomomo scurried back from Mukuro's hand, on edge once again. The guard was unfazed; she pulled her arm back and didn't advance. "I have to find Shouto, I have to find my friends, to make sure they're okay!" she repeated.

"I'm sorry, Yaoyorozu, but you cannot do that." Mukuro took a slow step forward, as if approaching a fearful animal. "Not until the doctors get your diagnosis and make sure you're stable. Then you can see them again. Rest assured, they're all safe and well, and likely asleep. It's only seven."

"No, please! I have to see them! I have to-!" Yaomomo felt tears welling in her eyes, her vision blurring. She stumbled back another foot. "H-How do I know you're not lying?" she sobbed. "What if- What if they're all dead..? I..."

_I don't deserve to live,_ she was about to say, when she suddenly felt something pricking her in the collar. Yaomomo's eyes shot down to see a small, white dart embedded in her skin. She looked back up to see the guard standing there, her left hand supporting her right forearm. Her index finger was uncapped. Her silver stare regarded Yaomomo sadly.

"Y-You... shot me..."

"Please, do not worry. It's just a simple sedative- it'll wear off in just an hour, and I fired it as gently as I could without altering the trajectory," Mukuro said softly, lowering her arm. Yaomomo's vision was beginning to flicker, and it wasn't because of the tears anymore. "I'm sorry I had to do this."

She didn't have a chance to protest any longer. As the ex-Detective crumpled to the ground, her eyelids heavy as lead, she felt a warm pair of arms catching her and scooping her up.

~~~

When Yaomomo awoke for the second time that morning, she was in her hospital bed again.

"Shouto..." She jolted up, ignoring how her head throbbed in protest, only to find herself recoiling as her eyes were met with a blinding light. It was even brighter in the room now; the curtains had been pulled back, and it was clearly well past dawn. The full force of the sun was blasting in through the window. She tugged the sheets over her head, rubbing her eyes. "Ugh..."

"Oh, my apologies." There was a voice, a voice she didn't recognize in her room. Yaomomo froze and went stiff, tucking the blanket tighter over her curled-up figure. She heard a muffled set of footsteps and the rustling of curtains. The light, through her sheets, grew dim. "So you're awake, Yaoyorozu."

Yaomomo cautiously peeked out from under the covers, blinking a few times as her eyes accustomed to the brightness. There was a man with spiky brown hair and olive eyes wearing a white coat standing by the windows, tucking the curtains shut. "Mukuro told me you had tried to leave earlier."

"So you're here to stop me?" Yaomomo rasped, propping her pillow against the headboard and sitting up. Her collarbone throbbed, but when she looked down, the dart was gone and a band-aid was plastered in its place.

"Well, partially, yeah." The man walked over to her desk, grabbed the rolling chair, and brought it to the bed. "Would you prefer I sit next to you or over here?"

"Stay where you are." Yaomomo didn't trust the man fully; she couldn't see a badge or nametag anywhere on him, and the fact that he'd just appeared in the room while she was asleep wasn't exactly trust-invoking.

"Of course." The man sat down at the foot of the bed and faced her. "While they did tell me to stay in here to stop you from leaving again, I'm mostly here to explain to you what happened. I'm sure there's doctors talking to your friends, as well. They're all awake by now."

"They're okay?"

"Yes, they're all fine. Everyone is safe and sound here," the doctor said with a smile. "Ah, right, you don't know who I am, do you? Nobody's told you where 'here' is, either, right?"

Yaomomo shook her head. "No."

"Well, I'm Makoto Naegi. You can just call me Makoto, or Dr. Naegi, whatever you'd like," the brunette said. "I'm one of the doctors here at Tokyo Gold. I do research and diagnoses; I'll probably be doing yours in a few days, but please don't worry about that," he added, offering Yaomomo a warm smile. "All of you were brought here from U.A., although Mister Todoroki is in another building. Our campus is pretty big, but I promise, he's only a few minutes away at walking distance, so don't fret."

"..." Yaomomo observed him. He didn't _look_ like he was lying, but if he was, he must've been mighty good at it to slip under her radar. "Does this place have a morgue?"

"Well, yes... why do you ask?" Makoto tilted his head.

"Nothing." Yaomomo continued without pausing. "What building are we in right now?"

"The psychology ward," he replied. "I like to call it that, but really, this is a mental ward. Branch A, to be exact."

"Oh." She fell quiet. Makoto took it as a sign to continue his explanation.

"Yesterday, an urgent SoS call was sent at about nine A.M. from your classmate Mei's communicator, stating that the hero Suneater was dead and that the villains would be busy for a while dealing with a 'class trial,'" he continued. "It was signed off by a certain Mister Kaminari."

Yaomomo stared at him blankly, showing no reaction. _Denki... sent an SoS message..? He... he must've done it during investigation... but why?_

"We received a second urgent message along with that one, stating that the prisoners the League took must be rescued as soon as possible, lest they be executed," Makoto said. "An emergency rescue team was created, and in a few hours they broke in and saved you. The messages were all correct; the defense was compromised. As you already know, once they got inside, the League released its Nomu army, but we still successfully rescued all of you from the battle."

"...Denki's dead."

"I know." His voice softened. "But he saved you all in the end."

"He... he should've lived." Yaomomo stared at her hands, at her filthy, bloody skin. Even if she washed them a thousand times, the stains would never come out, even if they were as clean and pristine as the sheets enveloping her fragile body in the moment. A mirage of purity.

"He should've." Makoto sighed. "But that's the way it is. He died, but he spared the six of you, plus the League's prisoners."

"Six? And... prisoners?"

"Ah, right. Yuga Aoyama, your classmate who managed to escape months ago. He's here, too, in this hallway. He's been silent; refuses to speak to anyone, not even his family," the doctor murmured. "Do you think there's any chance you could get him to talk to us?"

"No, I don't think so." Yaomomo paused, still gazing listlessly at her laced fingers. She decided not to remind him there was no reason to lie any longer about Shouto's death. If everyone really wished so dearly to avoid the truth, then she'd let them, if that made them hurt less. She'd had her fair share of hurting people already. "Please, um, don't let Tsu see him. He did something bad to her... I don't think they should even know of each other's existence in this hospital," she said instead.

"Of course." Makoto's eyes were warm. "As for the prisoners, they saved the ones who remained. Some were missing, so a search party's still looking for them. There seems to be no trace of them."

"They were killed."

"Huh?"

"Executed. The League executed some of them the first time we tried to use Mei's device after she died." She watched her vision blur once more with tears. "Cynthia died. She died because of me. And Eri... Eri was taken back by Overhaul. I don't know what he did to her."

She fell silent after that, wiping the crystal droplets out of her eyes. Makoto was still for a second before he got up, sighed, and began to push the chair back to her desk. "I'm sorry for everything. If only we'd broken in sooner, less people could've died." He turned to watch her, but she didn't lift her head. _He's right, that's why._ "I'll be going now, leave you alone for a short while. Mukuro's outside, and a nurse should be coming in a few minutes with breakfast."

Yaomomo didn't want food; how could anyone bear an appetite when all of your friends were dead, dead because you didn't do enough to protect them even though they all trusted you with their lives, dead because the heroes were simply a few days too late? But she allowed him to humor her. "Okay. Goodbye, Dr. Naegi."

~~~

After a few days, Makoto returned. He asked her an array of questions; she could barely remember any of them when it was all over.

A few hours after that, a nurse came back to inform her of her diagnosis. According to the doctors' analysis of her shallow, one-word answers to Makoto's questions, she had depression and anorexia. There was a pill with her food this time; apparently it was an antidepressant. The nurse stayed in her room until she'd forced herself to shove the disgusting, sandpaper-like rice and fish into her mouth.

She'd throw it up later if she could, if only she had the bravery to.

But she was just pathetic. She had failed Shouto; she had killed him, someone who had trusted her and only her with his entire life after his world crumbled into dust. She had gone for so long, pretending she was in control- in control of the trials, of the verdicts, of their lives in that room with a chandelier, a throne, and 24 podiums.

But she wasn't, and she never was. She wasn't even in control of her own hand, nor her brain.

And now she was out of control in even choosing whether or not to force food into her wretched shell of a body, out of control as nurses dissected her battle-worn brain, out of control while heroes were praised for ripping her out of all sense of reality, no matter how horrid that reality was.

She was a lone leaf in the wind, and she was being torn apart in a hurricane.

~~~

After a week, he took her to see the others.

"Yaomomo!" The moment she shuffled into the therapy room, she was met by a blue blur and a weight colliding with her midsection. Nejire nearly barreled her over with the force she was now clinging onto her with. "Oh, thank god, you're okay! You're really here!" she sobbed.

"You're going to choke me," Yaomomo chuckled, patting her on the back. Nejire's long, periwinkle hair was silky and brushed; perhaps a nurse had done it. The last time she was this well-kempt was before Mirio died, when Tamaki would get her to take care of herself.

_Tamaki._

She tried not to think about him and his sad, navy eyes, tried to focus on the crying girl in front of her instead.

Nejire pulled back. She was donning a blue gown and slippers identical to the ravenette's, and her skin was as pale as Yaomomo's in the lamplight of the small room. The curtains were drawn as to not blind the students' unaccustomed eyes, and as she looked around, she found that the two walls to her left and right were blackout glass. _There are probably nurses out there, watching our every interaction like lab rats._ Makoto had shut the door behind her and left; it was a perfectly transparent illusion of privacy: just the four of them in a tiny room.

"I'm glad to see we're all okay," Hitoshi mumbled. He was wearing a blue shirt and baggy pants instead of the gowns the girls were wearing. He was standing behind Tsuyu, two hands laid protectively on her shoulders. Meanwhile, Tsuyu herself was watching Nejire, who hurried back to her side, dragging Yaomomo with her by her limp wrist.

"It's... nice to see you again." Hitoshi released Tsuyu and slipped off of the table, awkwardly bringing the ravenette into a hug. "I'm glad you didn't die," he muttered into her shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm fine," Yaomomo soothed, rubbing his back. "I'm glad you're alive, too."

She had no need to wear a mask now, no need to lie or be strong.

She really was happy. Even if she had messed up, even if she had sentenced so many to death and suffering, she had saved these three. Even if they were broken, they were alive, and that was enough for the time being.

~~~

"Yaomomo?" She stiffened, looking up from her desk. "It's Dr. Naegi. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

It had been a few days since she was permitted to see her friends, and she had begun to explore her room, thus discovering a notebook and pen on the table. When she asked a nurse about it, they told her that she could use it as she wished, so she started a collection of doodles and poems in it. Images of Tamaki, covered in blood and flowers, as well as Cynthia and Kyouka, with their eyes gouged out and their heads attached to shadowy bodies, appeared seamlessly on the bone-white papers. It was easy to lose herself when she was clutching the ballpoint, she found; one moment she'd be staring at an empty sheet of paper, and the next time she was conscious of her actions, there was a picture staring up at her.

Makoto entered the room, wearing his usual white coat and semi-casual dress clothes. He was carrying a clipboard. "I was thinking about taking you to see Yuga, if you don't mind. I tried having Hitoshi see him earlier, but Hitoshi didn't even try to interact with him, so I was thinking that maybe you could try."

"Hm... Yuga." Yaomomo set down her pen, shut the notepad, and got up. "I could try."

"Of course. Thank you." Makoto led her down the hall. As she passed her friends' doors, Yaomomo found her eyes drawn to the papers on their doors.

_'Patient 9-A: Nejire Hadou_  
_Diagnosis: Clinical Depression_  
_Admitted 20xx 年 4月 7日_  
_Notes: Severe suicidal ideation'_

_'Patient 8-A: Tsuyu Asui_  
_Diagnosis: Schizoaffective Disorder_  
_Admitted 20xx 年 4月 7日_  
_Notes: Depressive type, on direct watch'_

_'Patient 7-A: Hitoshi Shinsou_  
_Diagnosis: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Compulsive Hoarding Disorder_  
_Admitted 20xx 年 4月 7日_  
_Notes: Given boxes of objects to sort and hoard for coping, do not remove or touch'_

Despite having probably studied criminal psychology and mental hospital records out of the U.A. library, the words swam meaninglessly before her. She walked by without stopping, and they turned around the corner and stopped at a door, one that looked identical to all of the ones before it. Yaomomo scanned over the nametag.

_'Patient 2-A: Yuga Aoyama  
Diagnosis: Clinical Depression  
Admitted 20xx 年 1月 4日  
Notes: Under close surveillance; lack of communication.'_

"Well, here we go. You ready?" Yaomomo nodded, and the brunette returned his attention to the door. He gently rapped his knuckles against it. "Yuga! It's Makoto. You have a visitor. I'm coming in!"

Silence followed. There was no response from the formerly bright and dramatic boy that Yaomomo thought she knew. Apparently, this was old news for the doctor, as Makoto slowly opened the door and beckoned for her to enter.

Yuga was sitting in bed. His blonde hair, once brilliant and styled in light curls, was drooping and tangled. It brushed his shoulders; he obviously hadn't bothered getting it cut, either. His curtains were pulled back, and he was gazing over the city and its gray cement maze. He listlessly turned, and a pair of hazy, violet eyes landed on her, not quite _seeing_ her but recognizing her existence nonetheless.

She shuddered, unable to meet his dead stare, but cautiously walked into the room. Makoto hovered in the doorway, holding the door open. "I'm going to leave you two alone, but you'll be on watch and there's guards on hand, so there's no need to feel in danger," he reassured.

_We're traumatized and depressed, not criminally insane,_ Yaomomo thought. _Well, maybe they're the same thing._ Still, she gave him a slight nod, and with a smile he gently shut the door, leaving the ravenette alone with the ever-silent Yuga.

"Um... hey." She didn't know what to say, standing there and locked in a staring contest with the other. She wrung her hands and broke eye contact, resigning herself to turn to the floor instead. "Well, uh, a lot has happened since we last saw each other, huh?"

She shuffled over to the desk, glossing over the surface. _Unused._ In her peripheral, Yuga was still watching her, but he didn't protest -or make any sound at all- when she pulled up the rolling chair. "So, um, have they been treating you well here?" She attempted to prompt him to talk, but to no avail. He simply averted his gaze and stared at his hands instead, quietly frowning. "I take it that you won't be talking to me, huh?"

She sat and paused, mirroring the blonde's posture. "Well, I'd also assume they haven't told you anything about what happened after you left, right?" she murmured. He had no obvious reaction, but the way his head lifted, even if just half a centimeter, spoke volumes. _He's listening now._ "I'll tell you what happened in the end, how we got out. Digging up every death that- that occurred after you left... that would be pointless."

She also didn't want to reawaken the ghosts in her head, the bodiless voices of the two girls she had maybe, in another age, loved so dearly, and now hated with a dark, blistering passion. It was only luck that they'd shut up for a few days already; snapping into hospital life outside of the school was too new to her body for it to fixate on the past over the present quite yet. "Umm... long story short, Mei had built this device that sent out distress calls to radio receivers outside of the school. We used it to send distress messages with intel on who was still alive and what villains were to be expected on guard, and a group of heroes broke in. Four of us survived- Hitoshi you know about, and then there's me, as well as Nejire and... well, and Tsu."

At the mention of the green-haired girl, Yuga's head snapped up, and Yaomomo found herself fixated with another stare, except this time, it was conscious. His violet irises were intense, like pieces of a swirling, spinning cauldron of poison condensed into tiny candies, bitter, foul droplets positively melting into hers as he pierced her with his gaze. She started. "Uh, um... Tsu? You want to know about her, don't you?"

Yuga held his fiery, unblinking stare, and she sighed, turning away. "Well, she was hit pretty hard by your little episode, dragging her through the vents. Her mental health seemed to deteriorate; mentioning fire would trigger her into having panic attacks. Nejire had to act as her caretaker for the second half of the game, after the fourth or fifth trial, I think." She couldn't meet his eyes; she didn't want to.

In the lapse of silence that followed, Yaomomo glanced up to see tears rolling down his face- clear, crystalline droplets slipping down his skin, still pale as paper despite having been free months longer than the others. "Hm? Yuga, are you-"

"It's all my fault, isn't it?" His voice rasped; it was small. Weak. Sad. Yaomomo watched the miniature diamonds splattering and shattering on the covers before him. "I messed up everything. Why am I here, when everyone else was hurting and dying within the game?"

"I- Yuga, it would have made no difference if you never left," Yaomomo tried to soothe. "Um, it's okay, really. All of us are hurt. There's no avoiding that."

She wasn't sure if her words ever got through, though, as Yuga had turned back to the window, listless once more as he gazed out at the dead, gray buildings, ignoring the tears that caught on his fluttering eyelashes and cascaded down his cheeks. "I'll leave you be, then," Yaomomo murmured, getting up and returning the chair. "Thank you for speaking."

And then she was gone, and Yuga was alone again.

~~~

A week later, Makoto took her on a walk through the campus.

"Oh... the sakura are done falling." Yaomomo stared, mesmerized, at the many trees along the walkway. Pink petals covered the brick path, and some were still falling, tumbling through the air; they were the corpses of beauty lying in heaps on the floor. It reminded her vaguely of the hazy image of a boy with pink running down his face, a perfectly inked sketch of him covered in blotchy flowers. She shook the thought away, twirling the stray lock of hair in front of her face around her finger.

She'd been permitted to hang out with the others the past few days, ever since she visited Yuga. Nejire had painted her nails pastel blue; Tsuyu had a nurse with her at all times for some reason; Hitoshi carried around a small, silver cat with black stripes and folded ears. Yuki, he explained. Mashirao's cat, rescued from its cage in the League's prison.

"Today would be... April twenty-seventh, I believe," Makoto presently said, turning back to glance at her. "When you were first admitted here, they were in peak blossom."

"Wish I could've seen it," she murmured. She tugged on her long, translucent bell sleeves; a nurse had given her a casual outfit for her outings outside of the ward. The dress was a pastel yellow, simple yet elegant. The collar, shoulder, and arms were made out of transparent cloth. She was given peach tights and a pair of white Mary Jeans to match. Her black hair was down, wavy and cascading just past her shoulders. Tsuyu had brushed it for her earlier.

"Maybe next year," the doctor remarked in reply. They walked along in silence for a minute, before he turned and led her into another building. She looked up and read the sign over the entrance- LICU.

"This is the Long-term Intensive Care Unit," Makoto said as they entered. He went up to the receptionist's desk and said something to them; Yaomomo trailed behind him like a lost puppy. A few seconds later, he turned around and beckoned for her to follow.

They made their way up the stairs and down a hallway, one with hazy, light green walls and white flooring. The lights were slightly dimmed; they halted at a door labeled 3-A. "Here we are." Makoto reached out and took the doorknob; _why isn't he knocking? Isn't that impolite?_ "You ready?"

"Yes, why?" Instantly she felt on edge; the entire situation was odd. _What's behind the door?_

He didn't respond. Instead, he merely entered the room, and Yaomomo resigned herself to following him within.

There wasn't much in the space. Just a bed and a large amount of machinery surrounding it. The buzzing devices, the IV drip and blood pack, and the heartbeat monitor -one that steadily pulsed, however slight, every few seconds- all dwarfed the seemingly tiny, bandaged figure under the sheets.

"Shouto?"

It was unmistakably him. Who else could have such pristine, half-red half-white hair? Who else had that burn scar covering the left side of his face?

Who else could look so perfect even in death?

Maybe the dead were supposed to look like this, and she just didn't know, what with the brutality of the Game.

_Is he dead at all?_ The heartbeat monitor continued to beep. "What... is he doing here?"

"Shouto isn't dead, Yaomomo." Makoto gently placed a hand on her back. "It's what I've been trying to tell you for a while now."

"But... I saw him die." Her voice was meek in the face of the comatose boy in front of her. "He jumped in front of me. Got burned. He slipped away- I watched his eyes shut."

"Well, he was just unconscious," Makoto retorted gently. "He may have been badly burned, but his body naturally has a resistance to high-temperature substances, like Dabi's fire, because of his lineage as a Todoroki. He survived, even if just barely. He'll be okay, though, I think. He's finally stable."

Yaomomo hesitantly approached the bedside, as if she were approaching a sleeping killer. "He's... not moving," she whimpered, staring at his pale, motionless face. His eyes were shut; he made no notice to her presence. Not even his heartbeat perked up.

"I know. He's in a coma."

"He looks dead."

"I know." Makoto paused. "Most comatose patients look like that."

"He may as well be dead," she muttered. Her vision blurred; how could life be so cruel? Giving back Shouto to her, yet not, all at the same time- it was worse than just killing him and putting both him and her to rest. "That's not... This isn't the Shouto I knew."

And as the tears ran down her face, she turned and bolted out of the room, shoving past a startled Makoto in the process as she aimlessly dashed down the hall. She didn't care about a destination; she just wanted to get away from him.

...

Of course, she didn't know the layout of the building, so she got lost pretty quickly.

"Stairway... where are the stairs?" She looked left and right down another T-crossing of hallways. "Can't find them..." She opted to just sit down and curl up in a ball against the wall instead, waiting for Makoto to find her. _I want to go back to my room._

Alone, in both mind and body, the image of Shouto's alive yet lifeless face, like a picture framed in unforgiving steel, flickered in her head.

_He's dead. Half alive and half dead, cruelly stuck in purgatory for all of eternity, trapped between two states._

_In that case, he might as well be dead._

_Why can't he just be properly dead, like everyone else?_

**You did this to him, Momo. You trapped him like this, killed him but wracked him with eternal suffering instead of the cold comfort of death.**

_I... did. I did this to him, yes, that's right._

_Sorry, Shouto. Sorry you're suffering right now._

_I wish it were me, instead, really, if only you'd let me take up your place._

_You wouldn't, though, right? You're too selfless for your own good..._

**Maybe he would, if he knew how horribly you've hurt him.**

"Yaomomo?" She looked up, and everything cut to silence again. Makoto was kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just lost." She stretched out her legs and got up. "Let's go back home."

She didn't know what was home anymore. She figured her room in the mental ward was the closest she'd get to home at this point- it was somewhere safe, somewhere she felt cared for. She followed Makoto as he took her back, easily navigating through the halls and back to the stairs.

"I think they're starting therapy with you next week, on Monday," he suddenly said once they'd made it outside. Overhead, the sky was only half blue; wispy clouds were coming in like plumes of white smoke. "I won't be your therapist, but I know in general who's taking up the group of you, and you're all in good hands no matter which person you get."

"What are the options?" _Therapy? Why have us dig up old experiences in an attempt to rid ourselves of them? It doesn't do that- it only makes us more miserable. Wouldn't it make more sense to just squash them in the backs of our heads until they're hidden in the shadowed corners, forgotten until we die?_ Regardless, Yaomomo allowed him to humor her.

"Well, first, there's Mrs. Yukizome. She has orange hair, and you've probably seen her around since she's been trying to talk to Yuga. Second is Ms. Akamatsu, right out of the top of her class in college. She has a way with getting people to open up. Third, there's Ms. Gekkogahara. She's very kind and generally comforting to be around. Finally, there's Mr. Mitarai. He's good at calming people down." Makoto glanced back at Yaomomo. "I know they're matching you guys up with same-gender therapists, so I only know that Hitoshi will be with Mr. Mitarai."

"Ah." Yukizome, Akamatsu, Gekkogahara. The names meant nothing to her; she hadn't seen the first of the three, actually, considering she hadn't tried to visit Yuga again and she was generally always alone or with one of the fellow survivors. She was usually the one going to their rooms; Nejire would sometimes voluntarily visit Tsuyu, but otherwise, it seemed like Yaomomo was the one given the most freedom of movement. Maybe because she was the most stable, which said a lot about the others.

"You don't have to worry much about it, though," Makoto added quickly. They were almost to the mental ward's building now- a long, two-story building. "Therapy isn't as scary as most people think. Nobody's going to force you to speak; if that were the case, Yuga would've talked by now."

Still, his words did little to comfort her.

_Describing my experiences to a stranger? How could I do that?_

_How could I possibly tell them I killed someone?_

~~~

As promised, Yaomomo's first therapy session was four days later, on the first of May.

"Here we are." The nurse halted before yet another door in an unfamiliar section of the mental ward building. "Are you ready?"

Yaomomo tugged anxiously at her sleeve. She had been given a t-shirt and loose, casual pants under a long, white cardigan, which she was now wearing. Her jet-black hair, newly washed, was tied back in a loose ponytail. She pushed the drooping ahoge out of her face, only for it to fly right back into her eye again. "Yeah," she murmured, as easily as lying, and the nurse opened the door, showing her inside.

"Ah, you must be Momo Yaoyorozu! Come in, come in." Instantly, Yaomomo felt as if she'd been transported into a bubble of another world. The walls of the rectangular room were painted a pastel, sakura pink, a shade gentle enough to not remind her of blood. She stepped tentatively onto the vinyl flooring, made to look like wood. In front of her was a table with a chair on her side and a young woman on the other.

She had blonde hair that curled at the tips and cascaded to her shoulders. A set of silver music note hairclips held back her bangs, and a thin strand of hair stuck up from the top of her head. She was wearing a pink vest over a white, long-sleeved shirt, all under a white jacket like Makoto's. Her pale violet eyes met Yaomomo's, and she offered her a warm smile. "Please, sit down." She gestured to the chair across from her, and the ravenette hurried to oblige.

Yaomomo took the chance to survey the rest of the room. A couch sat against the window, behind the blonde therapist. The simple, white curtains were drawn. To their left, most curiously, was a grand piano. Next to it, among other furniture, was a drawer painted in pastel blues and white music notes and clefs.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Yaoyorozu," the therapist said. "My name is Kaede Akamatsu. I play the piano, as you can see over there," she said, chuckling and gesturing to the large instrument on the other side of the room. "I'm excited to get to know you. Is there anything you want me to call you by?"

"Yaomomo is fine," the ravenette replied. "The 'Miss' makes me feel a little old," she said in a weak attempt at a joke.

"Alright." Kaede smiled. "Well, Yaomomo..." The ravenette stiffened, ready for the woman to shower her with the usual intrusive therapy questions, only for her to say, "How's the hospital life been treating you?"

"Huh?" Yaomomo tilted her head. _Is she trying to get me to lower my guard? It's not like I've had therapy before, so maybe this is normal practice... starting with intrusive questions seems like a bad strategy, anyway. I'll humor her._ "Well... it's okay, I guess."

"I'll assume you haven't been allowed to meet any other patients, other than your friends, right?" Yaomomo nodded again. "What have you been doing with your free time here? I understand you have a lot of it."

"Well, uh..." She thought back to the notebook on her desk. "I doodle and write weird poems. I've also been allowed to visit my friends a lot, so I hang out with Tsu or Hitoshi, or let Nejire paint my nails." She placed one hand on the table; Kaede leaned forward to inspect the careful handiwork, baby blue with glittery white stars on her ring finger and thumb exclusively. "She seems very lonely. I think it calms her down."

"Ooh, Nejire must have a very steady hand."

"She does. She was the Ultimate Beauty Pageant Star." Only after the words left her mouth did Yaomomo realize that it probably made no sense to Kaede. _Should I explain?_ She was so unused to interaction with strangers after the Game that she wasn't too sure how to act.

"A Beauty Pageant Star, hm? I'll have to ask Chisa about her," Kaede said instead, a finger to her cheek, not probing for details. She met Yaomomo's confused stare and smiled. "Right, you haven't been introduced to her yet. Chisa Yukizome is Nejire's therapist. She's good; you won't have to worry about them. But back to what you said..." She paused, clasping her hands again. "Can I ask about your friends?"

"Sure. Isn't it a therapist's job to ask questions?"

"Well, maybe. But you can't be too intrusive. I don't want to scare you away," Kaede's expression was warm. "But you said earlier that Nejire seemed lonely. Why is that? Isn't she tied to Tsuyu?"

"Tsu's... well, Tsu isn't exactly conscious company, no offense," Yaomomo said slowly. "She's... traumatized and hurt from the game. Even if she's with Nejire, their relationship feels like a guardian and their child over a friendship." Briefly, she wondered how it was so easy for her to talk about people other than herself. _Maybe because it's only my idea of them- I don't truly know anyone, except for maybe Cynthia, but Cynthia's over there now, somewhere._ She gestured to some vague corner of her obsolete mind, stuck in limbo since a month ago.

"Mmh, I see." Kaede regarded her with a soft gaze. "You care a lot for your friends, to the point of being selfless, don't you?"

"Hm? I suppose." Yaomomo shrugged. _I've accidentally said too much, haven't I?_

"What do you miss from before... all this happened?" she continued.

"Not much." A pause. "My family. My friends who died in the game. Being a student hero."

"Of course." Kaede shifted the subject, picking up what Yaomomo said and prodding at it. "What was your goal as a hero? Why did you pick that career?"

"I wanted to help people, to save them. I had to get stronger in order to do that." _And Cynthia encouraged me to follow my dream,_ she wanted to add, but she couldn't. "That's all. Why did you pick psychology?" She tried to turn the questions away from herself.

"Ah, well... like you, I wanted to help people and make friends with those who were lonely. Being a personal therapist seemed like a good idea." The blonde chuckled. "I was always observant and could read people, like you. In a way, we're quite similar."

"We are. But why didn't you choose to be a hero?"

"Truth be told... I was a little lazy as a child," Kaede confessed sheepishly. "I can alter sound waves with my quirk, although I can't alter my own voice. It required a lot of control to master, and as a kid, I decided it was too difficult and wanted to find a job where I wouldn't have to use it. I only really cared about my social life and piano. Of course, now that I've graduated and all, I realize it could actually be very helpful to a hero, for stunning and deafening your enemies, but it's a bit too late to change my career."

"Is it too late for me to change my career, too? It's not like I have my quirk anymore..." Yaomomo muttered.

"No, you shouldn't have to look far. You're already an exemplary hero," Kaede said. "You worked to protect your friends in the Game and wished only to save people as a U.A. student. And- that reminds me." She grinned. "Did you know they rescued Eri a few days ago? The little girl with the rewind quirk?"

"Huh?"

"Yup! Another band of heroes went out and saved her from Overhaul. There were many more casualties this time around than last time, but Eri's safe now, on the other side of the campus. I went to visit her yesterday; she's quite shaken up, having that relapse into abuse, but we've already had Aizawa talk to her, so I think she'll be fine." Kaede smiled, awaiting Yaomomo's response. "You've saved many."

"No, I didn't do anything." _I only sentenced countless to death, under the disguise of selflessly saving the innocent. That's all I am, right? A killer._

_Right, Tamaki? Is that what you were trying to tell me?_

A flicker of a lost memory, of a boy trying to speak to her from the shower flower, a knife clenched in her fist. She pushed it away.

"Denki was the one who saved us all," she continued. "I... I just did the trials. Figured out the killers."

"Ah, humble, aren't you?"

"Humble or just honest?" Yaomomo couldn't help but say in reply.

Kaede paused, considering her words. "I don't need you to share everything that happened in that place right off the bat," she said. "But I'm glad you're able to talk about it."

"How _do_ you heroes and doctors know so much about how the Game worked anyway?" the ravenette prompted. "None of us have been questioned yet. And when the heroes came in to rescue us, it was as if they knew that we'd been forced to kill each other already." Ryuukyuu stepping out and declaring how cruel it was to be hosting such a Game came to mind.

"Ah, we questioned Yuga's family," the older explained. "The hostages were all shown video footage of the Game. They gave us a rundown of how it worked, but we had no intel on what villains were present and who else died after Yuga left."

The two of them continued to shoot questions back and forth; they were all mundane topics like what their favorite animal was, or their favorite hero, or hobbies. The way Kaede, despite her friendly nature, had dug her way into the core of Yaomomo's head was off-putting, but her charisma was contagious. Yaomomo was doing her best to avoid talking about her friends, and tucking the details of the Game itself into the back of her mind was easy, but the last subject made her perk up.

"Hobbies, huh?" She glanced over Kaede's shoulder. "Other than reading, sketching, and making tea, I can play piano."

"Ooh, you can?!" The blonde grinned; there were stars in her eyes as she leaned over the table. "How long have you been playing? Do you have any pieces memorized? Can you sightread? I have some easier music books over there, I'm sure. Do you want to play?"

Yaomomo couldn't help but chuckle at her sudden, enthusiastic onslaught of questions. "I've been playing since I was a little girl, because I came from a wealthier family and I had to learn to play. I have some pieces memorized, and I can improv a little. I'm probably a little rusty, but I could play, if you'd like me to."

"Of course!" Kaede smiled and got up, leading Yaomomo across the gentle, pastel room and patting the wooden bench. "Please, go ahead."

And that was how she found herself staring at a familiar set of glossy black and white keys, paired with the sharp, welcoming scent of hardwood. She gently laid her fingers on them and experimentally played a scale; the sound was clear as a crystal. _This is a nice piano._

She recalled a piece in the back of her head- _Poem,_ she thought it was called. It wasn't long, but the melody was haunting, a lingering, hushed kind of longing. Before she knew it, her skin was against the keys, and the gentle beginning of the tune was weaved from the notes by her fingertips.

She stared, in a trance, at the keys, at her fingers dancing across them in a slow waltz. Everything was fading around her; it was just the keys, the notes, and her.

Her and her thoughts.

_A ritardando into a leading tone, paired with a crescendo, before the notes fell into a soft sequence of chords._

Yaomomo could see Tamaki hovering in the back of her eyes, hiding just out of sight, a cerulean gaze dull with death trying to find her, hunt her down. _What does he want?_ she wondered idly, watching her fingers move. He was reaching out for her, only to be swallowed by shadow whenever he tried. _He's unreadable._

_A rolled chord, a crescendo, the notes rising higher, before gently loping back down._

The piece reminded her of the Game; a haunting loop of sad finality at every turn but always starting up, again and again. It was like the neverending death that fell upon the students in the school.

_Kyouka, lying on the ground with her innards on the floor around her._

_Kyouka, giggling over a cup of bloody tea._

_Kyouka, tossing polaroids depicting a boy with a knife in his head over her shoulder._

**You can try all you want to run, but you can't. You can't run from your sins forever.**

_A series of chords, a crescendo- there was supposed to be a subito piano at the highest chord, but Yaomomo didn't care, she kept smashing her fingers into the keys- a desperate scream, louder and louder and louder with each beat._

_Cynthia, her body torn apart by the spears shattering her corpse like a doll._

_Cynthia, picking flowers with petals stained magenta._

_Cynthia, smiling as she slipped a photo into an empty album._

**You killed them all. Don't go off and smile and laugh like you didn't take their futures away from them.**

The piece was growing more intense, more manic as Yaomomo's hands began to shake and she started missing notes. She was going faster and faster, maintaining the tune but watching it grow more and more out of control, a dark indigo spiral that dragged her down, Kyouka and Cynthia dropping with her, grabbing at her, drowning her.

Tamaki was falling, too, holding onto her for dear life- or was it death? His eyes were hollow, boring into her empty, impure shell of a body. His hands cupped her face, frighteningly cold but gentle, in a way. His lips were moving, but Yaomomo couldn't hear anything.

_I'm sorry, Tamaki,_ she wanted to say, but couldn't. _I'm sorry for killing you, for everything._

_I'm sorry, Cynthia, Mezou, Izuku, Fumikage._

_Sorry I killed you all._

"Yaomomo?"

And then there was a hand on her shoulder, and she snapped back into reality. Tamaki and Cynthia and Kyouka all turned into fog, and she found herself hitting the ground. She blinked, and suddenly she was staring at the shiny, monochrome keys again. Kaede was sitting on the bench next to her. "It's okay. I'm here."

"Hm?" The ravenette removed her hands from the piano and looked up. It was only then that she realized her vision was blurring; she was crying. Kaede's concerned gaze fell upon her, and she hastily wiped the tears away. "Ah. Sorry. I got caught up in my head."

"I see." Kaede offered her a sad smile. "You've got a lot on your mind, huh? I understand you don't want to spill. That's alright."

_I wish I could, if that meant the guilt would go away._

"I'll try my best to offer support," the blonde continued. She reached for Yaomomo's hand; the younger silently took it. "Let's go back to your room. You're probably tired."

She didn't protest and allowed Kaede to lead her away, down the neverending maze of hallways and back to the comfort of a fake home.

She couldn't help but wonder about what Tamaki had to say.

***

The most dreaded funeral came a month later.

Yaomomo had been attending therapy with Kaede three times a week, strolling through the campus while softly chatting or sitting in her office. She wasn't allowed to play the piano again, and it was for the better. Maybe Kaede decided that playing allowed her to drown too deep in unwanted memories, which would be true.

However, Yaomomo couldn't help but trust the woman. She was kind and patient; even when the younger said things that likely didn't make sense, like Ultimate titles and vague descriptions of her fellow survivors back in the Game, Kaede didn't probe. She only took what she knew and fit the pieces in, in the hopes that one day she would complete the puzzle and look at the big picture with Yaomomo.

Now, she was in the ravenette's room, helping her get ready for the procession.

"It's just a private ceremony for the group of you," Kaede said while brushing Yaomomo's hair. "The public ceremony is later, and you won't be in it. Anyway, first, it'll be just you and Yuga, since he can't see Tsu and you're the only one who's gotten him to talk so far. It's an open casket ceremony, so you can see all of your friends and say your goodbyes. After that, he'll be taken away and Hitoshi, Nejire, and Tsu will come in, and the process repeats before all of you are taken back here."

"Okay." She fell quiet, allowing Kaede to brush out her midnight locks. It seemed that she had to stay double time, for the sake of being there for both Yuga and the other survivors. She didn't mind, really; whatever made them happy, she supposed.

Although, the idea of standing next to Kyouka and Tamaki for so long was off-putting. She didn't want to hear their voices.

"Are the prisoners who died going to be there?" she asked in a hushed voice, trying not to think too deep into it and reawaken Cynthia's pitiful gaze.

"Unfortunately, no. They never found their bodies; the League probably only preserved your classmates. They'll be mourned later on, in smaller funerals. You can go to Cynthia's." Kaede's voice softened on that last word, and she drew the brush back in one final stroke. "There, done. Let's go, now. I'm sure the car is outside."

Kaede led her through the halls and downstairs. Yaomomo was donning a simple black dress, black tights, and boots. It was growing to be a warm June, but the long, translucent, cinched sleeves of her top garment were appreciated nonetheless. Kaede wore a similar outfit, but without the sleeves; she donned a cardigan instead.

They entered the black limousine awaiting them; it was divided into booths, with the seats facing each other in each one. Kaede shut the door behind them, and they idly conversed for a few minutes before the blonde glanced outside the tinted window and spotted a certain duo.

"Ah, there's Yuga," she said, and Yaomomo turned to peer outside. Yuga was wearing a black dress shirt and matching pants. Chisa led him along; she was clad in a dark suit with long sleeves and black pants. The therapist had done well styling his appearance so that he looked a bit more presentable- his golden hair was neatly combed, and while it didn't have the bouncy curl it did before, it looked more lively than the last time Yaomomo had seen him.

They loaded onto the limousine, in the booth closer to the front of the vehicle, and soon they were in motion. Yaomomo couldn't help but stare outside; she hadn't seen the streets in a millennium, it seemed. It was morning, and the sky was a dainty blue, not a cloud to be seen as summer began to make its appearance. Even if villains occupied society, the streets were alive; people went about on their day-to-day business, walking down the sidewalks and entering stores and office buildings. Yaomomo wasn't sure what she'd expected of the outside world; it wasn't like the apocalypse had befallen the entire country, rather than just U.A..

"It's livelier than expected, hm?" Kaede's voice was gentle, tugging her companion's attention back to the inside of the car. "When All Might was defeated and the villains began their takeover, you were still in school, right?"

"Yeah." Yaomomo absently twirled the stray lock of hair beside her eye. "It was quite scary. Crime increased, and the heroes worked double time to try and ensure safety in the cities for the common folk." She vaguely recalled Endeavor's rise to the role of a symbol- granted, not one like All Might, but a symbol nonetheless. He was someone who fought his hardest, even if he would only ever amount to a tenth, maybe even just a twentieth, of the light All Might radiated.

Selfishly, she wished he fought harder for her, for her classmates who were now dead.

Hawks had visited her earlier in the month; she had apologized profusely to him for nearly taking out his face when he first rescued her. _"Oh, don't worry about that,"_ he'd said. _"I should've expected the fighting, honestly, considering what you kids went through in there."_

She'd also taken the chance to ask him why the heroes took so long to break in. He had explained to her how the villains' security was extremely strong, and every time they tried another attack the League had new members with new quirks. _"The first time we actually got into the building, you were all taken away before we could save any of you, even with the intel from Mei's device,"_ he explained. _"It was only the time Denki distracted everyone that we successfully broke in for a proper rescue."_

He had also given her a feather, one that now laid on her nightstand. It was pretty small; only slightly larger than an arrowhead. It was pliable when handled gently, like if she wore it around her neck as a necklace, but could be used as a hard object, almost like a small dagger, if she were in trouble. It was comforting, in a way, even if the thought of wielding it made her queasy. Holding a blade to anyone only brought Tamaki's sad, ocean eyes back to mind.

Besides, the feather and Hawks both reminded her of Fumikage, of both his final words as he pleaded for forgiveness and asked Tsu to remember him as a friend in place of a killer, as well as the guilt that came with his death. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

_"Are you sure you want to give me this?"_ She had gingerly held the red feather by the end of the quill. _"I've never heard of Hawks handing out feathers."_

_"I'll regrow it. I don't usually do people favors like this, but you guys are a major exception, for me and many other heroes."_ He sighed. _"So many strong, promising students, some of which we pros knew and personally worked with- and only six of you came out alive. To be honest, I feel bad about not having been able to save more of your friends, if only just one, so please... take it."_

"We all miss the old days, when people could afford to dream and live easily," Kaede suddenly said, cutting into Yaomomo's thoughts. She was resting her chin on her hand, also staring out the window at the nameless people moving by them as the limousine continued on its way to the memorial site. "It seems like so long ago."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, watching the city just beyond the glass. Finally, the vehicle slowed to a stop outside a black building. Kaede opened the door and led Yaomomo inside, where two people in black greeted them and began to take them inside. She was dimly aware of Yuga and Chisa following them.

They emerged into a large room with a high ceiling. There were flowers all over the room, covering the walls in pristine, white blossoms. As they stepped inside, Kaede hung back by the door, and an attendant came over and handed Yaomomo a wooden box of flowers. Lilies and roses and wisteria stared up at her. In her peripheral, she noted that Yuga was given a similar box by another man.

"Because this is a private ceremony specifically for the students who had a personal connection to the deceased in the Game, it will consist only of an open casket arrangement. Please place flowers in the coffins of those who were close to you and say your farewells." The attendants bowed to both of them and stepped aside, leaving the room empty, spare for Yaomomo and Yuga, their therapists, and a long, far too long row of open coffins under a sky of white petals.

"Go ahead," Kaede murmured, her voice just barely grazing the younger's ears. Yaomomo obliged without looking back, already entranced as she stared at the many wooden caskets. _I wonder what their faces look like..._

Portraits of the deceased were mounted above each coffin. Yaomomo cycled around, glancing at the photos as she silently strode by. She halted before one, meeting the bright, brown-eyed gaze in the golden frame. _Ochako._

She stepped forward, cautiously, and peered over the edge of the coffin. She gasped slightly, a sharp intake of breath; the very first killer herself laid inside atop a bed of dry ice, wearing a white kimono decorated with pink flowers. Her hair was neatly brushed, mocha locks framing her delicate face. Her makeup was light; it made her face seem less deathly pale. A few pieces of mochi were set around her- fitting for her talent, for her sweet personality, for the guise she had invited her victim to her blade under.

Carefully, Yaomomo picked a white chrysanthemum out of her box and tucked it beside her ear. Her skin was hauntingly cold, deader than a lake in a blizzard. "Rest well, Ochako," she murmured. The brunette continued to doze, peacefully, her hands resting over her still stomach and clutching a small, pastel pink ball with a darker pink ring around it. _That's part of her hero outfit,_ Yaomomo realized. _Her wrist weight._

She turned away and looked to the coffin next to hers. _Tenya._ His sacrifice at the beginning of the Game, trying to stand up to the villains... did it matter at all? She wondered, staring at his face. He was relaxed, lips parted in a slight frown, dressed in a black suit with his glasses folded next to him. She smiled, ever so slightly. _I'm glad he never went through the horrors of the Game, never had to kill anyone or die by a friend's hand._

She placed a yellow daffodil in the crook of his neck. "Thank you, Tenya."

She walked away from them, scanning the portraits. Yuga was standing before Kouji's; _of course. The boy he killed._ She walked to his side, as softly as she could, eyeing the flower arrangement he was creating around the vase that held the burnt body's ashes. _I guess the villains cremated him to prevent having to store such a... ruined... body._ She shook away the memories she'd just brought up, the bitter scent of burning flesh, the image of the gentle Animal Tamer lying face down, skin burned to a blackened, cracking, blood-oozing crisp.

"I hope he isn't mad at me." She jumped; Yuga was mumbling something to her, however soft and raspy. He carefully- lovingly, even- adjusted one of the strands of wisteria wreathed around the ceramic. "What I did..."

"Kouji is kind." Yaomomo murmured, standing back and watching the blonde as he adjusted the arrangement. "He'd understand, I'm sure of it."

Yuga was silent once more, but his eyes were warm as he adjusted the flowers. Yaomomo turned away and kept walking. Her eyes landed on his portrait quickly enough. "Fumikage," she murmured, a brush of her lips. She hurried over to him.

They'd dressed him up pretty well, his torn insides likely tied up in gauze under his black cloak, reminiscent of his hero outfit. His eyes were bandaged over, hiding the horrible wounds that had seared them away.

His little half-smirk, one that had once graced his beak, one that Yaomomo found herself wishing for, was gone. Staring at the corpse, she realized that she missed him and his calm demeanor, his voice, his unfazed expression as he did the autopsies instead of her. He was the boy who'd taken care of the dirty work for her while she lived like a princess detective, rich enough to afford to feel for the corpses being dug through, and when he was gone, she was thrown to the wolves.

She remembered his slight, sad smile as he asked for her to forgive him, as he left for Monokuma's trap and handed the torch off to her. She remembered seeing him tied to the cold, stone ground by his guts, bleeding out of his stomach, ripped open for surgery without anesthesia or any sense of purpose.

A chill went down her spine. She swallowed, unable to blink for fear of the images emblazoned in the darkness, and shakily placed a red camellia in his coffin. She hurried to walk away, only for another nearby to catch her attention instantly.

It was Mezou's portrait, hanging over a closed casket. She cautiously approached it. _Right. His body was crushed in the execution... fitting, for a wretch like him, to have this dishonorable, empty coffin._

And yet, staring at the portrait and the wooden shell, she couldn't help but remember him and Fumikage sitting together, sharing dinner and idle talk. She couldn't help but think of him as a hero, a student, calm and patient, good-natured to all except his foes. The Game had changed him so much that she'd begun to forget the real him; he was still forgotten, even now, as she placed a single daffodil next to the picture. _Rest well with Fumikage, I guess. He liked you quite a lot, you know. You really didn't have to go off and disrespect his final wishes by killing Mirio._

As she looked up, Yaomomo realized Yuga was gone. _Eh..?_ Chisa was, too, once she glanced over to the entryway. Kaede, who was leaning against the wall, caught her eye and tilted her head towards the door. _Ah. He must've left while I was with Fumikage and Mezou. Maybe Nejire, Tsu, and Hitoshi will be here soon._

She was just glancing over Katsuki and Eijirou's bodies, eyes idly scanning the Bomber's young, eerily gentle face and the Bodybuilder's eyepatch when her friends arrived. Nejire was walking with Tsu at her hand; both of them wore black dress shirts and pants, similar to Chisa's attire earlier. Makoto and Miaya Gekkogahara, a short woman with light blue hair in a wheelchair, tailed them.

Following the group of four was Hitoshi and Ryouta Mitarai. The brown-haired man gently pushed the former, wearing a traditional black suit, forward, urging him to join his fellow survivors. He obliged and entered the room. All three students took the boxes of flowers presented to them, listened to the explanation with weary eyes, and entered the chamber.

Yaomomo turned away from them, her focus reserved for staring at Katsuki's corpse and wondering how they managed to make him look so innocent. She didn't even notice the presence of another person at her side until they spoke. "Yaomomo?" Tsuyu was hovering next to her, staring at the coffin on the other side of Katsuki. "Why are there wisteria around Izuku?"

Yaomomo looked down. Izuku, his skin given a little more color by the makeup, was lying next to the blonde. He looked as if he were sleeping, lips parted slightly. He was delicate, pale as an angel, as the first snowfall. An All Might keychain rested in his hands over his chest; _how fitting._ Yaomomo couldn't help but smile, before her eyes drew upwards and spotted what Tsuyu was talking about.

Two strands of wisteria were looped against Izuku's cheekbones, cupping his face like a pair of divine hands. _Yuga. Yuga put these here._

_But she doesn't know about his existence, does she? The fact that he lives in the same ward as us is shielded from her._

"I put them there," she said instead. Tsuyu seemed to accept her reply, moving to place one of her own blossoms in the coffin- a crimson spider lily, its long stamens fanning out, tickling Izuku's suit-clad body. Yaomomo turned away and walked along the line.

There was something eerie about this place, about all of her classmates reunited once again, all within the same bubble of air. Even if most of them were asleep- dead-, it didn't matter; she was glad to see them again, truly.

She was making her way to Denki's portrait when she ran into Hitoshi, hovering over Mashirao's coffin. She stopped a few feet away from him and followed his hollow gaze, down to the closed casket.

"I'm sorry, Mashirao," Hitoshi murmured, his voice hushed as he began to shakily place flowers around the coffin, under the gold-framed portrait of the tailed ex-hero. "I wish I'd stayed by your side. Maybe we could've escaped together, then."

Yaomomo watched him for a heartbeat before turning away. It seemed too intimate a moment to watch, two lovers conversing; it didn't matter if one was dead, having lost his head -literally- weeks ago. She couldn't bear to be an observer, even if she was stuck as one, to their story, one doomed for failure from the start.

Instead, she walked past him to approach her original goal. As to be expected, Denki was residing within the box, idly napping. The makeup covered the burn wounds on his face; his eyes were peacefully shut. _It really does look like he's only sleeping... like he could wake up at any given moment._

But no, he was dead, dead as a doornail within a cushioned casket. She moved to set a handful of white plum blossoms, like snowy cherry blossoms, around him; _he should've lived, should've seen the sky and the falling sakura with us._ Her heart twisted, and she looked away, only to find her eyes caught on another portrait. It was a never-ending chain of death, of past allies dressed up like dolls in their eternal rest, and Yaomomo couldn't catch a break, it seemed.

_Kyouka._ Her stomach flipped. _She's... here._

She frantically rushed to the portrait of the dark-haired girl, and upon looking down, found the silent girl resting in a bed of oak. "Kyouka..." she muttered. Gazing upon her, the real her, clad in a kimono whose fabric was cut from the midnight sky itself, was like staring at a demon straight in the eye. Her hands were shaking; _why are they shaking? She's your friend..._

**Missing me?**

_My friend... is the voice in my head, her voice in my head, my friend? Is she my friend?_

_Is the voice her at all? Or is it just Tamaki playing tricks with me, tugging at the red strings over my head?_

_I don't know, I don't know..!_

Her vision blurred, and Yaomomo stepped back to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Kyouka's face looked far too sweet in death for her own liking, far too lively for something so dead. _Lively... a musician, this joyful creature..._ She was about to walk away to some other corner of this cage of hell when the voice returned.

**But no matter what, whether this voice is me or whether it's your friend, Kyouka was your friend, wasn't she? The good-natured girl who liked music, who fought her hardest for her friends, who cared for you so- she was your friend, wasn't she?**

...

Yaomomo turned back to the coffin, clutching the wooden tray of flowers so tightly that her knuckles were growing white.

_She was... Of course she was, how could I forget?_

She stared at the body with red triangles painted under her closed eyes.

**Kyouka was never cruel, right?**

**I'm not Kyouka. I'm just the voice your pitiful head created.**

**Kyouka would never say such things to you, right? You yourself are your greatest enemy. She would've only ever wanted to make you happy.**

_Funny, the things the human brain does._

"Rest well... Kyouka." Yaomomo plucked a strand of pale purple flowers from her tray and placed it in the coffin, curling it so that the violet petals cupped her face, much like how Yuga had wreathed his around Izuku, the wisteria whose hand Tsuyu was blind to. It was the same wisteria that Yaomomo now laid Kyouka to rest with, laid to rest the corpse, whose voice she had perceived and haunted herself with, who had blinded her from that beautiful mirage of a happy girl for far too long. "Sorry for everything. I'll miss you."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and for once, they were of grief. Grief for a girl whose life was cut short, grief for the friend she'd lost and never given the opportunity to truly cry over. _Grieve later,_ she'd said when she stepped off the bronze elevator to Fumikage's trial. She'd never found a _later_ in the Game.

_Why, Kyouka..?_ She stared at the girl's meek face and allowed the tears to flow down her face as she quietly cried into her fist. _Why did you have to try to kill? Why did you fight the despair alone?_

She wished the girl were here. Maybe everything would be different, then; maybe Denki wouldn't have been so depressed, maybe Yaomomo wouldn't have killed Tamaki. But then again, couldn't the same be said for any of the dead? What if Tenya hadn't died, what if Rikidou hadn't been killed in the first place? How would the story have played out, then? There was nothing she could do about it; thinking about an alternate future would do nothing to change her reality.

Still, she wanted to imagine Kyouka alive, as fictitious as it was.

She wanted to hear her laugh and have tea with her, wanted to play guitar with her, wanted to train with her.

She wanted her friend back, in place of the false voice uttering lies in her ears, but nothing could ever bring that wish to fruition.

She dried her tears on her sleeve and took a shaky breath. "Goodbye. I'll see you again, someday," she murmured to the coffin. Kyouka was unmoving within, a doll frozen in time and dressed her best for nobody to see. Yaomomo turned and stepped away from her. Her mind was still; silent.

She glanced around the room. Hitoshi was adorning Denki's body with flowers, white chrysanthemums and light purple lilies. He was muttering something, ever so softly, the tears slipping down his face. She tore her gaze away; it felt wrong to watch. On the other side of the room, Tsuyu was staring at Ochako. Yaomomo thought she could see her lips moving; _she's talking to her._

_I hope they can find their way, too._

There was one last person Yaomomo wanted to see, one person she wanted to apologize to. She turned around, searching for that familiar head of blue hair, because where else would she be but at his side?

"Ah... Yaomomo." Nejire looked up with bleak, teary eyes as Yaomomo made her way over. They were hovering over Tamaki's coffin; she was clutching her box of flowers. Crimson camellias and spider lilies surrounded him; _he looks at peace, at last,_ Yaomomo thought, staring at his makeup-costumed body. There was a taxidermy butterfly sitting on his chest. "You're here to say your goodbyes, too... right?"

"Yeah." She couldn't take her eyes off of his perfect face. _He looks so... angelic. He's a picture of eternal youth, of innocence... I wish bodies reflected the person they once were._

"I'll... I'll give you a moment, then." Nejire's voice was weak as she took her box and backed away, moving across the room to where Tsuyu had since shuffled to Fumikage's side, tucking flowers into his feathers. That left Yaomomo alone, standing before a coffin bearing red petals and a person frozen in time.

"H-Hey, Tamaki." A sad smile edged her lips. Her palms were sweaty, her hands shaking; she gingerly removed her hands in turn from the box to wipe them on her skirt. "I... don't really know what to say. Just... sorry about everything."

She could still remember driving the knife into his head, him writing the note, him beckoning her to help him in the empty hallway; she'd always remember all of that. But that was all she knew of him; she didn't know a hero, a friend, a teenager with a promising future. She never knew any Tamaki other than the one who'd told her to kill him, who sat there with tears and a smile on his face while she held a blade to his hair, flicking it back as she prepared to strike.

But even then, despite the fear and guilt and grief that came with that singular memory, Yaomomo could remember something else, too, now that she was looking at his real face once more. A muffled voice, telling her she's done well, telling her that it was time for someone else to help her for a change.

A sad smile and tired eyes had met her own when she brought that knife down.

Wordlessly, she removed a white chrysanthemum and a bundle of yellow daffodils in turn from her box and set them around Tamaki's head, before taking a couple of plum blossoms, delicate petals whiter than his death-kissed skin, and tucking them into his hair. She pulled back and set her empty tray down on the floor, leaning forward to see her handiwork.

He truly looked beautiful, she decided, her messenger from the heavens sleeping upon a bed of flowers.

"Rest well, Tamaki." Her expression was warm as she stepped away, picking up her box. Nejire must have been watching her, because it was then that she made her way over.

A lapse of silence. Nejire hovered by Yaomomo's side, gazing over Tamaki's flowery body. "He was a great hero, you know?" she murmured without looking up. "He... always looked out for everybody." She bit her lip and looked down. "I like to believe that maybe... he only pushed me away because he cared for me. It's wishful thinking, and kind of selfish, but... I can't see him in any other way. I can't see him as a cold person."

Yaomomo glanced to her face, to her regret-filled expression. His last words rang in her ears like a siren, and she couldn't help but speak out. "I think you're right," she said.

"Hm?"

"Tamaki... Tamaki was a selfless person." Yaomomo's eyes glazed over as she looked back to him, to the light she didn't deserve and barely knew, but reached for her through her prison of leaves and thorns anyway. "He only ever did anything to help others. He loved you, you know, like the way you loved him."

Nejire looked up at her, tears like shattered diamonds cascading from her eyes, eyes bluer than the sky that she, out of the Three, had been gifted the chance to see once again at the expense of the others. "I... I'd love to believe you, but..."

"I may not have known him all that well, but truly, I only say this because I knew him _too_ well in the end." Yaomomo stared at the beautiful petals wreathing his body on a stage of the divine, petals that would wilt far too soon as he did. Nejire fell quiet, silently crying as she gazed upon the blossoms.

Her words, even left unsaid, hung bright in the air between them.

_Thank you._

~~~

They left shortly after, once everyone had said their final goodbyes.

Yaomomo left the bodies behind her, while Nejire wept as she adjusted her flowers in Tamaki's and Mirio's coffins. Tsuyu spoke to Ochako once more before Miaya took her away by the hand. Hitoshi spared Mashirao one last guilty glance before leaving as well.

Yaomomo looked back to the line of caskets a final time as Kaede led her away. _I wish Shouto could've seen Izuku again. It would've made him happy, I think._

"Shouto..." she muttered under her breath, turning away as the door shut behind her. The group walked quietly down the hall and out into the open air.

It was a perfect late spring day, with summer's arrival hanging over the fluffy clouds. Squinting up at the perfect, crystal-clear sky, Yaomomo felt at ease, for once after so many days of suffering and riot within her brain. _It's a beautiful day. I wonder what tomorrow will look like._

_In a way, though, it doesn't matter, right?_

_As long as we can see a sky and clouds, no matter how bleak and hopelessly gray, it should be enough._

They loaded onto another black limousine; Makoto, Miaya, Tsuyu, and Nejire got into one booth, Ryouta and Hitoshi boarded the second, and Kaede and Yaomomo entered the third. The vehicle started up, and Yaomomo leaned against the window, staring through the tinted glass at the blurry buildings and normal people having a normal day.

"Are you okay, Yaomomo?" Kaede's voice was gentle. Yaomomo turned to meet her violet eyes with a small smile on her face, something she thought she'd lost forever when Kyouka was found dead, when Cynthia stumbled, when Tamaki cried as metal pierced his head.

"Yeah. I'm okay."

_It'll be okay._

_The Game is over, and the dead will stay dead._

_Did we win it, or did we lose?_

_It doesn't make a difference in the end, does it?_

_All that matters now is that I'm alive, Nejire's alive, and Tsu and Hitoshi and Yuga and_ Shouto- _they're all alive and breathing, and that's something akin to a miracle._

_Even if we're never out of the battlefield, even if we're just fighting another battle right after the last... it's okay._

The wounds would take a while to heal, and some would never go away.

But that's alright, because at least they were all alive, and they could fight side-by-side at last.


	53. Epilogue : Sakura Blossoms at Dawn and Dusk - Part 2

Yaomomo strode briskly down a white and green hall, passing through a pattern of light to shadow to light again. There was a vase in her hands, a clear, glass vase with three branches of delicate, pastel sakura within. With her white sundress swaying around her, she halted at a door to her left. The plate read 3-A, a number and a letter engraved in an enamel plaque. She took the doorknob in her hand and entered.

"Hello, Shouto." The door shut behind her, leaving her alone with flowers, machinery, and the shell of a man frozen in time. Through the curtain-drawn windows, the crimson rays of the sunset cast a rosy glow over the painfully white walls. Yaomomo walked around to the far side of the bed and placed the vase on the table by the headboard before sitting down in her black plastic chair, as usual.

There were flora everywhere, in jars and vases alike, red spider lilies and vermilion camellias, amethyst wisteria and chrysanthemums with petals lighter than a cadaver's sheets. None were wilted; she always made sure to change the graying flowers. After all, there were never dead flowers at a dead man's party, right?

"How are you?" Yaomomo took his cold hand, lying on top of the sheets, and turned her gaze to his face. He looked as delicate as ever, pale skin scarred by long-ago burns- a patch over his left eye, and a newer, jagged stripe down his right temple. His lips, smooth with balm, were parted in sleep. He was as still as ever; the heartbeat monitor on his other side beeped regularly as blood stubbornly flowed within his corpse. "It's been a while."

She carefully readjusted her hand, lacing her fingers with his. "The sakura are at their peak," she continued. Behind her, the dying flames of the day burned against her back, outlining everything in red and orange. Her hair glistened, tied up in a ponytail and adorned with a silver music note hair clip. "I went boating with Yuga and Hitoshi for viewing in the morning. We had fun- Tsu's only just started having therapy with him recently, so we split up the group. In the afternoon, I joined Nejire and Tsu. Eri was there, too. We had a picnic together." She smiled, turning to glance at her vase of sakura, petals like glittering, cherry rubies in the dusk. "It was so nice... you would've liked it."

The date was April seventh, precisely five years after the students had been rescued from the League of Villains' Killing Game. The villains had maintained a steady hold on society, but with the aid of the heroes, life was mostly normal. Well, as normal as life could be for the survivors, but it worked out alright.

"I'm glad you're here, though. At least I can talk at you," she murmured, turning to stare out the window. The cityscape, the same stone jungle she'd glimpsed the day she arrived at the hospital, was basking in fiery hues. The smoky, white clouds were ablaze. She fell silent, her eyes fixed outside. _Beautiful... flames._

A flicker of a cage of cerulean, a burning body crumpling before her.

A library turning into nothing but ash and blood, cinders waltzing around a scorched corpse.

She pushed the faint memories away, instead focusing on the gently drifting clouds and the cold sensation of Shouto's fingers against her own.

They sat there until she'd forgotten all sense of time, the room quiet spare for the white noise that was the steady beeping of the machinery. "I do wish you could've seen this sky, though, if only just once," she mumbled, dragging her eyes away from the dozing sun and back to him.

A pair of hazy, mismatched eyes met hers.

"...huh?"

Yaomomo blinked, once, twice. Shouto stared back up at her, his eyelids fluttering as he attempted to reaccustom to the golden light of the room instead of the cold darkness of death.

_He's supposed to be dead, he's- he's_ been _dead for years..!_

She wrenched her hand from his, wrapping her arms around her chest instead. "Sh-Shouto..?"

He couldn't really do anything but lay there and stare up at her, blinking as if to ask her, _"You're here?"_ Yaomomo didn't dare speak, nor touch him again; _why is this happening..?_

The heartbeat monitor was still going, the beat faster than before. Even in the swiftly paling light, she could see his eyes were gaining a sharp glint of liveliness- something so familiar, yet achingly not all at once.

_He's... alive..._

_Shouto... is alive..._

_I should be happy, right?_

_I should be glad he's alive, right?_

_So why..._

_Why do I want to run?_

Visions of blue-hot fire and burning flesh leaped to her mind once more, tenfold in color; tears and hysteria, Shouto dying, Yaomomo running from Dabi, fighting Hawks when they took the body away. Even before that, there was Shouto yelling at her with tears in his eyes, asking her why she killed Tamaki, Denki throttling Nedzu, Denki blowing up- her ears rang, a loud buzzing closing in on her, backing her into a corner as the distant memories, vivid and far too big for her head, fell upon her back once again and crushed her under its stifling weight.

"Wh-Why..?" she choked out, her breath becoming uneven and ragged. Her limbs tingled, adrenaline blistering her from the inside. She stumbled up and away from the bed; Shouto, lacking the ability to use his body spare for his senses, followed her with dazed eyes. The blinking was getting more rapid, as if he were alarmed by her reaction.

_Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink._

_A dead boy in the shower._

_A knife in her hand._

_A bystander asking her why she did it._

"I'm... sorry..!" She staggered away, racing out of the room without a second glance back. Tears were welling in her manic eyes as she slammed the door behind her, sharp and stinging against the freezing hospital air. Her head was spinning; she slid to the ground outside the door, curling up in a ball, crying into her arms.

The buzzing wouldn't stop; it was a massive, writhing, black scribble devouring her, eating away at her brain until all that remained was the scent of burnt skin and fresh blood, visions of bodies and a courtroom, and she was drowning in it. She wrapped her hands over her ears, felt the tears drip down her face, her body shuddering as she tried to block out the too-loud noises. _Someone... please... tell me this is just a nightmare..!_

She was unaware of how long she stayed there, curled up outside Shouto's room, but she heard a rapid set of footsteps hurrying down the hall and coming to a halt beside her. She peered over her arm to find three nurses rushing into Shouto's room, followed by whispered exclamations, delightful at his awakening.

One person remained outside- Makoto, she realized, gazing pathetically up at his olive eyes and brown hair. His expression was sympathetic; sad.

_Why..._

_Why can't I just be happy..?_

~~~

"Mmh, I see," Kaede said, raising her coffee to her lips to take a sip. "You panicked when Shouto woke up because he brought back memories from the Game, right?"

"Yeah," Yaomomo mumbled, warming her fingers around her own latte. "I just... I just don't know why. I'm supposed to be happy that he's awake, right?"

She glanced outside the window their booth was next to. It was raining, droplets splattering against the glass and blurring the view of the street. A cold, desolate landscape. Inside, however, the buttercup lights blossomed over their heads, illuminating the fuzzy edges of the sweater Yaomomo wore and Kaede's cardigan. Voices buzzed in a low, steady hum within the café, accompanied by the welcome scent of coffee and pastries.

The two had remained friends, even after Yaomomo's therapy sessions were up and she was dismissed from the hospital about two years ago. Yaomomo trusted her, her and her optimism and understanding nature. She'd even told her about Tamaki; not even Makoto knew of what she did. It was a secret for her, Kaede, Hawks, and her fellow survivors to carry, and she was content for it to stay that way.

"I understand where you're coming from," Kaede replied. "You've been able to push all of the memories away only because you've been able to grow and make peace with the rest of your survivors. But Shouto's comatose state is something cut right out of that day five years ago. It's as if you're being transported back to the time after you were rescued, and his presence triggers that."

Yaomomo stared listlessly at the distorted cream art on the surface of her drink. "I just want to be happy with him again. I want us to be friends, but I can't help but feel... scared. It's okay if I just think about him from before, but seeing him in the flesh..." She gently squeezed the cup, shoulders folding inward. Her stray lock dipped in front of her eye.

"It's okay," Kaede soothed, leaning over the table to place her fingers over the ex-Detective's. "It'll get better with time, trust me. I think we can try slow exposure therapy between you and him, like what Tsu and Yuga are doing. We can even parallel your results, if we think professionally," she added lightly.

Yaomomo couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Yeah, we could try that."

_I'm sorry, Shouto._

_I wonder if you miss me._

~~~

"So, how's the new job been?" The ravenette asked, picking up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks. The late afternoon sun was streaming into the room through the window, casting a hazy glow over the group of four seated around a rectangular table.

"Mmh, it's pretty good for my first gig." Nejire flipped a lock of her periwinkle hair over her back; she'd cut it again sometime after their last meeting, as it only reached her upper back now. "They're not babying me or anything. The customers like my goods, and the café got a spike in revenue. Apparently I'm a celeb," she joked, poking at her own food. "Hitoshi's been visiting lots, too!"

"But of course," he chimed in at her side, a smile tugging at his lips. The bags under his eyes were lighter, albeit still existent. "Even if it takes thirty minutes getting across the city, your red-bean bread makes it worth it. Well, that and hearing your stories from work."

"Aww, I'm flattered." She grinned and placed a hand to her lips. "Oh, by the way, how's your classes? Do you share any with Yaomomo?"

"No, we're not in any shared courses. I have lab time in the morning and classes to three," Hitoshi replied. "I pick you up after that, obviously. Ah, Yaomomo, you have a full schedule, don't you?"

"Yeah. Pretty similar to the first year, honestly." She swallowed her food. "Class all morning, then a lunch break, and more classes in the afternoon. I'm free after five."

"Of course you stacked it up. Makes me kinda glad I didn't go back to school," Tsuyu commented, smiling. "None of us could live up to that kind of standard."

Hitoshi chuckled. "Yeah, I wish. If only I had that kind of determination, then I'd be churning out devices. It's taken me a whole week to tinker up one item. Yours, actually, Tsu, the brace for Masaru."

"Oh, nice. Thanks for that." The jadette sighed, no doubt thinking about the children at the orphanage she worked part-time at. "With the brace, I'm more worried about the trees he's headbutting. But at least he won't be straining anything."

The four of them were in Nejire's apartment on a mild Saturday afternoon, and they'd made sushi together. The bluette was certainly handy in the kitchen; Yaomomo recalled that during their hospital stay, she'd spent a lot of time with an oven and stove with Chisa. On the other hand, the ravenette buried herself in the pages of countless notebooks. She still had them lying in a box somewhere, snapshots of her unconscious mind's guilty secrets. She vaguely recalled that there were a lot of images of Tamaki and flowers. Kyouka, too, in her hero outfit, and Cynthia with her tea.

"Speaking of which, how's Shouto been?" Yaomomo prompted.

"Oh, he's doing really well! I visited just this morning, actually, and he was propped up against the headboard," Nejire exclaimed. "I talked a while, caught him up on some stuff, y'know."

"I saw him, too, a few days ago after class," Hitoshi added. "He can't emote or move, but that's expected after practically sleeping for five years. I brought Yuki with me. They seemed to hit it off okay."

"You're gonna do exposure therapy with him, right?" Tsuyu piped up, hefting her chopsticks. Yaomomo nodded. "I think it's a great idea. It should go fine. You two were close back then."

"I don't know," the ex-Detective murmured, resting her chin on her palm. "I really just want to be friends with him again, but when I saw him, it brought back a lot of bad memories..."

"The therapy'll help. It's been going well for Yuga and me so far," she offered gently. "Give it a month and see."

Yaomomo didn't respond, merely picking up another piece of sushi.

~~~

The first therapy session was three days later.

"It'll be okay, really, trust me," Kaede soothed as they strode down the hall. Her long, white overcoat brushed the backs of her knees as she walked. "I'll be there, and Yuga will be by your side the whole time!"

_"Oui!_ I, Aoyama princeling, model extraordinaire, will be your guardian angel!" Yuga said with a dramatic brandish of his hand, walking step in step with Yaomomo. His blonde locks were glossy in the passing light, and his other arm was linked with hers. "It's going to be fine, really," he added, more seriously this time. He dropped his hand. "We'll leave if you feel uncomfortable, okay?"

"Alright." Yaomomo couldn't help but smile, even though they'd been over this multiple times already. _He's truly very sweet._ "Well, here we are," she muttered as they approached Shouto's door.

"You ready?" Kaede asked. The ravenette nodded. "There's no time like the present, then. In we go."

As they entered the dim room with its blackout curtains, Yaomomo found herself ensnared by a pair of mismatched eyes, sharp with renewed energy. She gulped; Yuga must've noticed her tension, as he turned to her with a tilted head. She shook hers and he looked away.

"Shouto," Yaomomo murmured, approaching the other side of the bed where the chairs were. She took a seat, the same place she'd sat on the evening he'd awakened; her companion settled beside her. "Um, you look well."

Shouto was laying down, his head resting atop a white pillow. He couldn't turn it yet, lacking any control of his neck muscles, so he was side-eyeing her. The heartbeat monitor to his side beat steadily. "Sorry for running off last time," she continued, averting her gaze. His eyes were beginning to remind her of the light that dimmed in them as the fire blazed on, of the tears that had glistened like dying stars when he fought with her and insisted she couldn't have killed Tamaki.

_Tamaki... help me out here, please..._

Of course, Tamaki wasn't there, and she found herself alone in facing Shouto.

"Erm... I've been well." She was grappling for things to say; fending off the memories was made a little easier by Yuga's presence at her side, but she didn't know what to tell him. She didn't know what the others had said already, but she figured she might as well say a little about herself. "We all got discharged from the hospital two years ago. It's been five since the- the Game ended. Um, I'm going to be a teacher. I'm a sophomore in college now- I only took one semester last year, but I caught up and passed the exams, so they let it go.

"You've been okay, too, while you were comatose, but I assume you already know that." A pause. "I've missed you."

She fell silent after that, staring at Shouto's pale hands folded on top of the sheets. She cautiously slid her gaze upwards, to his face. He averted his own eyes as she turned to them; his red and white hair, neatly combed, brushed the bridge of his nose.

_Mismatched tresses, fluttering among cinders, ablaze with blue tongues._

She blinked and looked away, but the memory prevailed. She could remember every detail perfectly- the way he crumpled to the ground, her snuffing out the flames, his supposed dying words ringing in her ears, her overwhelming guilt, all of it; it was all too loud, too bright, too pungent with ash and burnt flesh.

Yuga must've felt her anxiety, because he gently tucked a hand against her bicep and began to pull her away. "Ah..." She allowed him to tug her to her feet. "Sorry," she murmured to the man on the bed behind her, before walking away, Kaede and Yuga leading her outside.

She didn't see his lingering gaze on her back, nor the tears edging his arctic eyes.

~~~

They continued exposure therapy, going several times a week for two months. Yaomomo found herself able to stay in the room longer each session, talking to him about random subjects like classes or her friends, until she was able to have full, hour-long visits with him, albeit with Kaede accompanying her.

Despite that, she didn't know how she wound up in the hospital parking lot at eight in the evening, alone on a Friday night.

She figured this was a bad idea, especially considering she'd never visited him without a friend, plus the hospital closed its doors for visiting at five. But she still impulsively wanted to see him, and she supposed she could just pity-play the receptionist. She was bored and tired; her homework could wait, for once. She'd tried sitting down to work on it and wound up getting not a single word down, her addled mind preoccupied by visions of a heterochronous boy and a hero with navy hair. She had toted all of her materials along in a backpack to Shouto instead. Maybe his presence would help her complete some of the things.

She hopped off the empty bus and walked through the campus. She was wearing leggings and an oversized gray pull-over hoodie with just her bra underneath, but the mild spring air was warm enough for her not to feel any chill. Fortunately, the doors of the building were unlocked 24/7 in case of emergencies, so she entered the LICU without trouble. The receptionist, one Mr. Kizakura with dirty blonde hair and stubble, looked up from his computer.

"Oh, good evening, Miss Yaoyorozu," he greeted. The ravenette cocked her head, surprised at the recognition. Maybe living on campus for three years and constantly visiting the building for two actually gave her a bit of a presence. "You're here to see Todoroki, I assume. Go right ahead."

"Hm?" She hesitated. The guy could be a bit of a drunk, as she had learned from Mukuro, but he was always clear-headed on the job. "You're not going to try and stop me? Visiting hours are over."

"Yeah, well, I know you, as do all of the nurses, so you can come by anytime. I mean, nobody's going to stop you," he said, offering her a smile. "So just head on upstairs."

"Ah... thank you." She offered him a slight bow before walking down the hall.

She found herself in front of the room in no time, quietly opening the door with bated breath. The lights were dimmed inside, but it was bright enough for her to see. "Hello, Shouto," she murmured, shutting the door behind her. He was laying down, and his eyes fixed on her as she entered. He blinked slowly. "I'm... alone. And I know it's late. I just wanted to see you."

She went to her usual side of the bed and sat down, setting her bag in the chair next to her. "I hope you've had a nice day," she said as she dug out her notebook and pen. "College has been fine. I was having a bit of writer's block and I have an essay due on Monday, so I decided to come here and talk to you. Can I stay? I understand if you fall asleep."

Shouto blinked twice at her; the signal for _'yes'_ the nurses used and taught all recovering patients who couldn't speak yet. "Alright."

She spent a while describing her own day to him while jotting down notes for her article on modern hero studies. Her eyes were glued to the paper, and she was trying to blur out his figure in her peripheral. "Y'know, I'd like to teach at U.A.," she suddenly said, risking a glance up. Shouto cocked an eyebrow and rapidly blinked at her, incredulous, his eyelashes fluttering and catching the light above. "Right. I never told you. They're going to try and reopen at a new place, at the edge of the city, later this year. There'll be heroes on guard duty at all times. I heard even Hawks would be taking part-time shifts, so it should be plenty safe."

She paused, observing his face, waiting for the memories to strike her as they did before. They didn't, though, so she continued tracing his scars with her gaze. She had missed doing this, she noted, idly admiring him as one looked upon a piece of art framed in gold. "There'll be internships in the summertime," she continued softly. "I can pick up a bit more experience then."

The corner of his lips quirked up. She couldn't help but smile, too. "What, are you jealous?" Two blinks. "Aww, I'm flattered. I'm sure you could get back into college or take an online course once you're recovered."

He frowned and blinked once- the signal for _'no'._ "Hm, why not?" Yaomomo paused. "Well, I guess that's a bit of a dumb question, isn't it? You can't talk." She sighed and looked away, staring at the ink scrawl on her paper instead. "I'm sure that you'll recover well, and then find a nice job. Of course, it's a shame we can't really be heroes now, even if Eri gets our quirks back after she enters high school. We're all out of practice, huh?" She chuckled. "But, well... maybe you could be an author and write a book of conspiracies. I'm sure you'd like that, right?" Shouto hesitated, before blinking twice, smiling slightly. "Or you could teach with me as a TA, or something, if you wanted to work with kids. Or you could ask Tsu- she works at an orphanage."

They conversed back and forth for an hour, Yaomomo speaking and Shouto offering yes or no as input. She managed to get half of the first draft of her essay written, too; granted, it was messy and she'd have to rewrite it later even before editing, but work was work. She set the notebook down and tucked it into her bag, along with her pen. "It's gotten late, hm?" She peered out the window, tugging at the curtains, to gaze over the yellow-speckled city below, golden streaks of cars and blinking windows dazzling her vision. She turned back to the man in the room and let the cloth fall to block the glass. _I'm tired... I wonder if I'd get in trouble if I stayed here._

And before she knew it, she had turned the chair around and curled up so that her head rested on the side of Shouto's mattress, legs tucked on the seat. She glanced up to find him staring at her with wide eyes. "Relax. I just want to lay down a while here. You don't have to worry too much- I think I'm getting better with you."

They sat in silence for a while. _Right... there's no memories,_ she realized, opening her heavy eyelids and glancing up at him. His own eyes were tightly shut; he was sound asleep. _Could we possibly get back to how we were before, soon..? I think... I'd like that..._

"Goodnight, Shouto..." She dozed off, head leaning against his side under the covers.

~~~

She roused at dawn.

"Nngh..." _Where am I? This isn't my apartment..._ Yaomomo groaned and looked up, forcing her eyes open. Her back ached from her curled up position. She blinked, seeing Shouto still sound asleep beside her. She could feel the warmth of his body, alive and safe, against her head.

_He looks so peaceful._ Yaomomo stared hazily at him, drinking in his soft face, his long eyelashes, the color returning to his skin, his parted lips and old scars; it was tranquil. Quiet. Silent.

_He's no longer triggering anything, either._ She thought back to how she'd been overwhelmed by visions when he'd first awoken, when she'd seen those clear, blue and silver eyes again after so long. But now, all was still. She could only find contentment in her mind as she stared at the dozing Shouto. _That's nice..._

"I'll let you sleep," she murmured, pulling back off of the bed, the heartbeat monitor continuing to bleep behind her. She stood and stretched, feeling her spine crack as she loosened all of her tight nerves, before tugging at the curtains to grasp some sense of time. "Oh..."

_It's beautiful..._

The sky was overcast, the dying stars and moon hidden behind a gray curtain, but the dawn was a rosy, sakura pink, amber rays cast across a silver canvas. A haze settled over the monochrome city below, the sharp edges of the square buildings blurring in the halation of a picture-perfect watercolor mosaic. _How lovely..._

She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder once again, at Shouto's gentle face. _I'm glad you got to see this sky again, after all._

On that cloudy spring morning, it was truly incredible that they were all _alive_ at last, and Yaomomo wished for it to stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my friend zoey for helping me fix the first draft!! ily no homo ('w')


	54. Epilogue : Sakura Blossoms at Dawn and Dusk - Part 3

"It's so nice out today, isn't it, Shouto?"

"...yeah. It is."

Yaomomo smiled, dragging her wandering gaze away from the verdant treetops. She glanced left to the man walking alongside her, whose bejeweled eyes were fixed on the path before them. Above, rays of sunlight filtered through the treetops, dappling the undergrowth with fragments of amber and painting a speckled trail of gold along the path the group were hiking along.

"Tsu, slow down, _s'il te plait, bon fleur!"_ Yuga was calling to the young woman forging ahead on the path. She turned from the outlook she was peering over and hurried back to them, saying something that Yaomomo didn't quite catch about how they were almost there.

"I'm glad~" Nejire hummed. She had a rather large, gray backpack on her shoulders. "It'd be great to set this down. Not even kneading dough at the café makes my shoulders ache like this."

"I could carry it for you the rest of the way," Hitoshi offered, walking along at her side.

"Oh, no, no! You already have your own backpack, how are you supposed to carry two? I'll manage." She immediately denied the help, instead launching into another conversation of some random topic with the indigo-haired man.

"Hehe. It's so nice to see everyone getting along, huh?" Yaomomo chuckled and turned to Shouto, her eyes gliding along the stripe of scar tissue down his temple. He tilted his head and reciprocated her gaze. There was a smile brushing his lips. "Even just two years ago, I wouldn't see Yuga talking so casually with her."

"Two years ago, I wouldn't have seen myself hiking, either," Shouto joked. "It's crazy, isn't it? How quickly everything changed since we were kids playing heroes."

"Well, I wouldn't say ten years is quick, but sure. It's changed a lot since _that_ time." Her voice softened, and her stare drifted back to the forest around them. They continued on in silence, trailing behind the idly chatting Nejire and Hitoshi while Yuga watched Tsuyu jog ahead.

They reached a slope in the path. Their green-haired trail leader bounded ahead, and when she returned, she was wearing a grin that nearly stretched off her face. "We're here!"

The group strode past the ridge to find the path opening out onto a sandy beach. The sandy expanse ringed a lake, the water clear as crystal and shimmering like diamond in the August sun. People were scattered across the shore, and some were swimming amidst the gentle waves.

The group began to make their way along the beach. Yaomomo was just scanning her eyes over the people around the area when a girl with platinum hair and a singular horn caught her eye. She tugged at Shouto's sleeve, prompting him to look over and follow her gaze. "Is that... Eri?"

"Eri?" Nejire stopped and turned around to see what they were staring at. "Oh! It is! Eriiii~!" The bluette broke out grinning and waved, calling the younger's name. It'd admittedly been a few weeks since Yaomomo had seen her; well into her second year at the newly reopened U.A., Eri had high marks in Yaomomo's hero studies class and was already sidekicking at Nighteye Agencies, happily on the road to becoming a proper hero.

In the present, the girl looked up from the friend she was talking to, and crimson eyes met Yaomomo's silver ones. She smiled and waved back, before the group continued on, in search of a patch of empty sand in the area where swimming was allowed.

They ended up settling for a patch under a conifer, where Hitoshi and Yuga took all of their bags to dig out the towels while Nejire flopped into the sand, despite it being both hot and rough. Her shoulder-length hair splashed around her in a glossy pool of cerulean, and she loosely tugged at Tsuyu's ankle. The shorter woman was almost like an excitable child upon seeing the water, and the older was probably her only impulse control in preventing her from leaping into the water.

"There's a bathroom over there," Yuga pointed out, gesturing to the small wooden facility quite a distance to their right, nestled among a few trees. "You could go change, _notre petite grenouille."_

The jadette snatched her bag and ran off with a hastily uttered thanks. On the other hand, Nejire was already wearing her swimsuit under her shirt and pants. She spread the turquoise towel her violette friend handed her and stripped on the spot, throwing her clothes into her backpack and revealing her lace-edged, pastel blue bikini. She tied a white wrap around her waist, as well as a matching sling-like cloth over her shoulder and half of her chest. The translucent garments had splashes of flower embroidery on them.

"You look good in that," Hitoshi drawled, taking out a bottle of sunscreen and hefting it at her. She giggled, in the midst of also tying up her hair with a scarlet ribbon.

"I'm flattered, really, but you helped me pick it out," she reminded jokingly. "Thanks, though."

Yaomomo chuckled and glanced at Shouto instead. He was still reclining in the sand next to Yuga, who was laying on his towel. "You're not swimming, right?"

"Probably not. I'll see." He opened one eye and met her gaze. "I sure know you are, though. What're you wearing?"

"Similar to hers." She shrugged. "We went shopping together."

The group waited for Tsuyu to return, with Hitoshi lathering sunscreen onto Nejire's back while Shouto tried to guess what kind of swimwear Yaomomo would wear and Yuga . The conversation was pretty much just Yaomomo saying "no" to every ridiculous thing he suggested. If she had to be honest, she was surprised he kept an impassive, straight face the entire time. Finally, Tsuyu -who was wearing a dark green bodysuit with lighter stripes up her sides- returned and beckoned Nejire to join her in the lake.

The two hurried off and Yaomomo moved to get up. "I suppose I'll have to follow them." She was also wearing her swimsuit under her clothes, so she quickly stripped and adjusted her hair.

"...that's a new look on you." Shouto idly eyed her white bikini top with wavy, translucent black lace on it. The bottom piece had a skirt, as well. "You've learned to enjoy the arts of modest swimwear since your days as a college girl."

"Oh, shush." She tightened her ponytail and left to join the other two ladies testing the sun-polished water.

~~~

"Today was fun, wasn't it?" Yaomomo sighed, tucking her rolled-up towel into her bag. It had been a few hours; the three women had gone swimming before relaxing on the beach with the rest of the group until about sunset. Yaomomo had since changed into a shirt and a pair of pants, as did Tsuyu and Nejire. Her damp, black hair was tied up with a small white bow.

"Mmh." Shouto hummed in reply and picked up his backpack, and the group began to make their way back up the beach to head for the train station.

Yaomomo spared a glance back over the lake, to the drowning, buttercup sun and the crimson rays saturating the water with golden glitter. The clouds pooled against the horizon, foggy and silver in the approaching twilight.

_This... this was the same sunset that shone over my head the day Shouto woke up._

"Yaomomo? Are you coming?" She turned to see that he had halted and was gazing back at her. His image seemed fuzzy in the warm embrace of the amber dusk; she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Yeah."

_It's been a long time, really._

_So much has happened since we were rescued from hell. Look at how we're all doing, now. I'm sure we never could've imagined doing this back then, leading normal, happy lives, all of us getting along without guilt or sorrow._

She took Shouto's hand and allowed him to lead her away, chasing after their friends.

_...Tamaki..._

_You would've liked this._

_You wanted this, didn't you? A happy day like this one, one where everyone could smile and you could be content._

_...you wanted to help me..._

_I wish I could've repaid the favor._

For a split second, she wondered what it would be like, if it were the raven-haired boy walking hand-in-hand with her, violet eyes and a gentle gaze melting into hers, in place of-

No. No, she couldn't imagine not having Shouto at her side, no matter how hard she tried, and the moment abruptly passed.

And yet, her lips still tugged upwards.

_This is how things played out, right?_

_There's nothing left to do but accept it and enjoy it, cherish those who lived._

That didn't mean she thought about Tamaki and Kyouka and Cynthia any less, but it was a string to grasp at nonetheless.

And Shouto's fingers were warm against hers, pulse intertwining with hers and tying together a perfect red bow.

_It may have been a long, rough road getting to days like this one, but... still._

_Yuga, Tsuyu, Nejire, Hitoshi, Shouto- I'm glad I got to become friends with all of you, even if we lost everything else._

Flames danced across the darkening air above, red and welcoming and warm, their soothing touch brushing against Yaomomo's skin and lighting up her hair with gleaming, magenta glitter.

She wouldn't give anything for this moment, walking along a beach with a real sky over her head and her friends, alive and well, at her side.

_Thank you, Tamaki._

_Thank you so much._

_>Epilogue : Sakura Blossoms at Dawn and Dusk : The End | Surviving Students : 6 | The End<_

_>Item Obtained : Taxidermy Butterfly<_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you. Thank you all so much for reading. It means the world to me <3


	55. Bonus 1 : Inventory Check

_>Neo Killing Game: A Hero's Killing School Life : Press Start<_

_>Load Game<_

_>Save File 10: Chapter 8 Daily Life | Updated 4/28/2020 13:34:59 | Monocoins 9999 | Play time 74:08:59<_

_>Load this saved game? : Yes<_

_>Continue<_

...

_>Menu<_

_>Presents<_

_>Filter : Bond Gifts and Post-Chapter<_

114\. Rose Bookmark - A red ribbon bookmark bearing the outline of a rose embroidered in pink thread. A golden tassel is tied to the top of it. A gift from Yuga Aoyama.

115\. Pink Barrette - A modest, pink hair clip with a few sparkles on it. Keeps your hair out of your face when dancing. A gift from Mina Ashido.

116\. Frog Figurine - A little plastic frog. Its simplistic, childish design is cutesy and somewhat heartwarming. A gift from Tsuyu Asui.

117\. Little Star Candies - Glittery grape candies shaped like stars. They're in a tiny box with a blue bow on top. A gift from Ochako Uraraka.

118\. Rustic Scarf - An orange and brown silk scarf with a beige fringe. The colors are very down-to-earth, and the garment is mostly decorative and would be draped around one's shoulders. A gift from Mashirao Ojirou.

119\. Box of Sweets - A variety of chocolates within a red box. They appear to be handmade. A gift from Denki Kaminari.

120\. Manly Headband - A mahogany cloth headband one would use while training. Radiates chivalrous energy. A gift from Eijirou Kirishima.

121\. Rabbit Plushie - A cute, hand-sewn plush of a white bunny. It's very soft and has large, floppy ears. A gift from Kouji Kouda.

122\. Icing Kit - A box with all of the equipment needed for frosting an endless variety of sweet treats. Includes several icing bags and an array of decorating tips. A gift from Rikidou Satou.

123\. Glass Vials - A set of small, corked bottles made of glass. They're stored in a series of pockets on a piece of dark green cloth. A gift from Mezou Shouji.

124\. Music-themed Collar - A purple cloth collar with music notes embroidered on it. The material is soft and snug, and it even has an adjustable silver buckle. A gift from Kyouka Jirou.

125\. Recipe for Orange Duck - A recipe written on a piece of paper for roasted duck with mandarin sauce on the side. The dish is delicious, and very healthy to boot. A gift from Hanta Sero.

126\. Black Quill - A quill with a simple silver tip. A gift from Fumikage Tokoyami. The long, glossy feather seems to have been plucked from his own head.

127\. Analysis Booklet - A notebook consisting of notes on all of the Class 1-A members from back when they were students in school. The analysis details different likes and habits from everyone; it's kind of creepy, but also shows how dedicated and intuitive the author of the booklet is. A gift from Shouto Todoroki.

128\. Sketch of U.A. Days - A pencil drawing depicting a group shot of the Class 1-A girls. Everyone is happy and smiling. It looks like a monochrome photograph. A gift from Tooru Hagakure.

129\. Sight's Leech - A paperback mystery novel. It looks like it's from the school library, but the gesture is kind enough. A gift from Katsuki Bakugou.

130\. Notebook of Classmates - A compilation of hero profiles for each of the students of Class 1-A. Everyone has a sketch of them in their old costume, as well as intricate descriptions of their quirks, fighting style, strengths, and even weaknesses. A gift from Izuku Midoriya.

131\. Small Crystal Ball - A cloudy, glass sphere. It's said that if you look into it, you can see the future. A gift from Hitoshi Shinsou.

132\. Glowing Teacups - A set of dainty, ceramic teacups with strips of pastel LEDs in them. The lights can be turned on and off with a small switch, so you can enjoy your drink even in the dark. A gift from Mei Hatsume.

133\. Yellow Rose Hairclip - A small, plastic hairclip with a little rose on it. The yellow color symbolizes friendship. A gift from Mirio Toogata.

134\. Potted Red Carnation - A carnation plant in a blue and white delft flowerpot. The crimson flowers are in full bloom. A gift from Tamaki Amajiki.

135\. Decorative Hair Accessory - An elegant hair accessory consisting of a large, blue rose made out of velvet. Black webbing and crimped, periwinkle silk surround it. It appears handmade. A gift from Nejire Hadou.

136\. Bloody Pair of Glasses - Proof that you cleared the Prologue. A memento of Tenya. He always wore these as he worked hard for his classmates and family.

137\. Used Sewing Kit - Proof that you cleared Chapter 1. A memento of Ochako. She used the needle in this kit for her murder plan...

138\. Red Handkerchief - Proof that you cleared Chapter 2. A memento of Yuga. He always had this tucked in his pocket, to keep everything around him shining as brilliantly as he did.

139\. Pair of Severed Horns - Proof that you cleared Chapter 3. A memento of Mina. She had always loved her little horns, and they made her look cute and unique.

140\. Brown and Orange Bandana - Proof that you cleared Chapter 3. A memento of Hanta. He was always an easy-going and down-to-earth guy, much like the nature of this scarf. He worked hard for his classmates...

141\. Black Ivory Knife - Proof that you cleared Chapter 4. A memento of Fumikage. This was his signature blade, the one he used to carry out justice's will. You feel torn looking at it, but you don't know why.

142\. Used Map of the Vents - Proof that you cleared Chapter 5. A memento of Izuku. Eijirou had used this map to break into his room, in search of the key to set him loose for murder.

144\. Full-Head Mask - Proof that you cleared Chapter 6. A memento of Tooru. She had used this in her wicked, back-stabbing scheme. The design is grotesque and rather frightening.

145\. Mezou's Mask - Proof that you cleared Chapter 7. A memento of Mezou. He had always worn this to conceal his sharp teeth and creepy smile, although it never did much to hide his cruelty in the end.

146\. Burned Collar - Proof that you cleared Chapter 8. A memento of Denki. He and Kyouka had matching collars, but his now lies ashen, torn, and splattered with blood...

147\. Red Feather - Proof that you cleared Chapter 9. A gift from Hawks. He had saved you from the Game, although he misses Fumikage and regrets never being able to save more of your friends.

148\. Taxidermy Butterfly - Proof that you cleared the Epilogue. A memento of Tamaki. He had always loved butterflies, and this one, beautiful and sincere, reminds you of him especially.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> { if nkg were an actual game with free time events, this would be the maxed out inventory with all of the max bond rewards. }


	56. Bonus 2 : Wisteria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> { An alternate version of the epilogue. }

Yaomomo awoke to a stark, white ceiling.

"Nngh..." She blinked and willed herself not to drift away again, lying in the soft embrace of a clean, sterile bed. It was obnoxiously bright; unfamiliar sunlight painted golden rays across her vision. _Where is this place..?_

She sat up and glanced around the room. It appeared to be a hospital chamber, with white walls and white flooring and white _everything._ It was almost a bit too stiff, too cold, even for her. At least the air was warm, and there was an oak desk with a rolling chair at the foot of her bed. A singular object of normal color in this dead-pale room. She liked it.

_Hospital..._

_We... yeah, that's right. We were rescued..._

_...Denki..._

_Hitoshi, Nejire, Tsu, Shouto..._ A flash of blue, of a boy crumpling to the ground before her, of medics taking his corpse, of Hawks preventing her from going to him and rescuing him from their chilly, unfeeling hands. Her eyes widened. _That's right, they took him from me. I have to find him, find the others, too..!_

Yaomomo swiftly got up. There was a massive set of curtains to her right, covering the entire wall; she tugged them back, only to recoil at the explosion of light that met her. "Guh..." She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes, squinting at the glowing image of a plain, gray, cut-out image of a cityscape below her. The sky was sheathed in a thick blanket of gray clouds, and a white sun was rising to part them. _How bleak..._

She pulled the curtains back to their original placement and began to stumble around her bed and to the door. _So cold... they even took my shoes._ Looking down at her garments, she'd been changed into a light blue gown while she was out. _My clothes are gone, too. What didn't they take?_

She staggered to the exit, slipped into a hallway of whitewashed turquoise and beige, and shut the door behind her. A sign was taped to it; her dull, silver eyes scanned over the letters.

_'Patient 7-A: Momo Yaoyorozu  
Diagnosis:  
Admitted 20xx 年 4月 7日  
Notes: '_

"April, huh..?" She dragged her gaze away from the piece of paper. "I thought it was December..."

She began to scurry down the hall, glancing left and right at the blank doors. "Shouto... Nejire... Tsu... Hitoshi... where are you..?"

She'd only managed to take a few steps when a second set of footsteps emerged behind her, alight with the sound of heels clicking in rhythmic monotony against slick tile. Yaomomo whirled around, only to find her eyes locked with a matching pair of stormy gray ones. The young woman had short, black hair, a splash of freckles across her pale face, and a monochrome outfit consisting of a blouse, a skirt, and tights. Her boots with their steel soles clicked to a halt as their gazes met.

"Ah. A patient." The woman lowered her hand- a silver hand, one with guns for fingers, _how curious._ "Momo Yaoyorozu, isn't it?" Her stance visibly relaxed; her eyes were warm, more of a melted-metal kind of gray than an electric stormcloud gray.

"...yes." Yaomomo stood stiffly next to one of the doors, not even daring to blink as she watched this lady's every move. Her attention landed on a glittering badge clipped to her bosom; _Guard 1-A. Mukuro Ikusaba._ "Ms. Ikusaba... what do you want with me?"

Mukuro's expression was gentle, her voice as soothing as a dancing stream. "I was told that you were to stay in your room until further notice from the doctors. If you need something, you need not hesitate to ask."

"I have to see my friends," Yaomomo whimpered. "I have to make sure they're okay... and I have to find Shouto. Shouto Todoroki, do you know where he is?" she asked, her voice betraying desperation. "They took him from me, they took his dead body. I have to find him."

Mukuro frowned, sighing. "I'm sorry... you can't see Todoroki yet. Doctor's orders. You'll be permitted to see him soon, though, I'm sure!" She forced a bit of a lilt into her voice as she tugged a pair of black gloves from her belt, slipped them over her metal hands, and offered an open palm to Yaomomo. "Come along, now. I will escort you back to your room."

"N-No... No..!" Yaomomo jumped back from Mukuro's hand. The guard was unfazed as she pulled her hand back; she didn't appear discouraged by the rejection, nor did her expression ever waver from sympathetic pity. "I have to find Shouto and my friends, I have to know they're okay..!"

"I'm sorry, Yaoyorozu. You can't do that." Mukuro slowly took a step forward, hesitant to approach her, lest she scare the girl away. "Your friends are all sleeping at the moment, but I'm sure it'll be okay later. You'll just have to wait for the doctors to go and see you. It's only seven, so there's no need to be hasty."

"Please! I'm begging you, you have to let me see them! I have to know they're okay-!" Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision of the woman gazing upon her as if she were a wounded puppy. "How- How do I know you're not lying?!" she sobbed. "Wh-What if they're all d-dead..? If... If they were, then..."

_Then I should be dead, too,_ she wanted to say, when something akin to a needle pricked her at the base of her neck. "...eh..?" She looked down to see a dart embedded in her collar, the white implement as pale as her own skin. She gasped and reached to pull it out, only to find her limbs growing heavy with drowsiness. Her dazed eyes shot up to see Mukuro standing there with her right hand extended, pointer finger uncapped, her left hand supporting her forearm. "Y-You... shot me..."

"Please don't worry. It's only a simple sedative," the guard quickly explained, lowering her arms and rubbing her shoulder. "It'll wear off in just an hour, and I fired it as gently as I could without misaiming." Yaomomo's vision was quickly blurring, black dots flickering in and out of sight. She blinked; Mukuro lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry."

Yaomomo didn't have the chance to even begin to fight it. Darkness overtook her in a swift wave of sleep and dragged her off her feet, sending her tumbling to the floor. As her consciousness faded, she was dimly aware of a warm pair of arms gently catching her in their steady, unyielding cradle.

She felt safe, and she found that she liked the feeling.

~~~

When she awoke for the second time that day, she was back in her hospital bed, and she was alone.

"Muku... ro..?" She blinked open her heavy eyelids before swiftly recoiling at the too-bright, too-white light that flooded her sight. "Ugh..." She rubbed them and moved to sit up, one hand cupped over her brow to shield her squinting eyes while the other massaged her temple. The sudden movement had sent a wave of dizziness through her skull.

"Oh, my apologies." She jumped, having not seen the man sitting at the foot of her bed. Caught off guard by the unwelcome intruder, she quickly ducked back under her sheets and covered her head. Through the blanket, she could see the light dimming as he presumably closed the curtains. "So you're awake, Yaoyorozu."

She peered out from the cotton cocoon she had tucked around herself, and her gaze landed on the brunette man with olive eyes and a white, sterile hospital coat. He was tidying up her curtains, but as she moved to sit up, he turned to her with a warm expression. "Mukuro told me you tried to leave earlier."

"And you're here to stop me?" Yaomomo rasped, propping up her pillow against her headboard. Looking down to where the dart had hit her, there was nothing but a band-aid in its place now. "And where is Mukuro?"

"Well, yes, I'm kind of here to stop you. And Mukuro's just outside. Do you want to see her? I can get her to come in, if you'd like," the man offered. He paused by her desk, looking over to the figure in the bed for any sign of consent or denial.

Yaomomo thought back to the young woman in monochrome clothes, whose warm arms had caught her in the empty hallway. She was the one who presumably brought her back to her room and tucked her to bed; Yaomomo dwelled on the thought for a moment too long. _Like a maid, almost, like Nejire taking care of Tsu, like Cynthia at home._ "Mmh. Sure."

The brunette smiled and went to the door, poking his head out and exchanging brief words to someone just outside. He reentered with the familiar ravenette tailing him, her grayscale figure blending into the white walls, the white floor, the white light. She offered Yaomomo a small smile as they met eyes, silver slipping into gray.

"Well, I suppose we have a lot of explaining to do for you," the man said, him and his olive eyes, a color as sunny as summer but unfitting and as drab as a wilting tree in this blank place. "Would you prefer we sit next to you or stay over here?"

"...come up here." Yaomomo admittedly didn't want to be in close company with a man whose name she didn't know and who appeared at her bedside while she was knocked out cold, but if he and Mukuro were a package deal, she'd deal with it. They approached to sit in the black plastic chairs by the window.

"Well, I suppose nobody has told you where you are, right? And you don't know me, either," the man began. Next to him, Mukuro kept her soft, fuzzy gaze on Yaomomo, casting her in its monotonous warmth and promise of security. "My name is Makoto Naegi. You can just call me Makoto, or Dr. Naegi, whatever you'd like. I'm one of the doctors here at Tokyo Gold. I do research and diagnoses; I'll probably be doing yours in a few days, but please don't worry about that," he added gently. "And of course, you already know Mukuro here, our best guard."

"If I'm here... where are my friends? And where's Shouto?" Yaomomo inquired.

Mukuro's expression fell just the slightest bit. Makoto, on the other hand, maintained a perfect poker face of sympathetic care. "Mister Todoroki and the rest of your friends are here, too. Everyone was brought here from U.A. by the heroes who saved you. Our campus is pretty big, but they're all within walking distance, I promise."

Yaomomo squinted at him. A flicker of a memory, where a boy with red and white hair crumpled to the ground and whose eyes slipped shut in a world of flame, came to mind. _He doesn't look like he's lying..._ "Does this hospital have a morgue?"

"Well, yes... why do you ask?" Makoto tilted his head curiously, his lips tugging at a frown.

_Of course._ "Nothing." She looked to her hands, folded atop the sheets. "How did the heroes just so happen to break in while the villains were distracted, anyway?"

"Ah, right." The brunette smiled slightly. "Yesterday, an urgent SoS call was sent at about nine A.M. from your classmate Mei's communicator, stating that the hero Suneater was dead and that the villains would be busy for a while dealing with a 'class trial.' It was signed off by a certain Mister Kaminari."

Yaomomo blinked. _Denki... sent an SoS? Must've been during investigation... but why?_

"We received a second urgent message along with that one, stating that the prisoners the League took must be rescued as soon as possible, lest they be executed," Makoto said. "An emergency rescue team was created, and in a few hours they broke in and saved you. The messages were all correct; the defense was compromised. As you already know, once they got inside, the League released its Nomu army, but we still successfully rescued you from the building."

"...Denki's dead."

A pause. "I know." His voice softened. "But he saved you in the end."

"He... he should've lived." Yaomomo took a shuddering breath, staring at her nails, imagining the blood trapped under them. "Out of all of us... he should've lived."

"He should've." Makoto sighed. "But that's the way it is. He died to save you... all of you."

"..." Yaomomo shut her eyes, engulfing herself in illusionary darkness.

It wasn't fair, and she hated it.

~~~

_"Shouldn't you tell her?"_

_"No. No, she doesn't know yet. Telling her... could you imagine how badly it would hurt her?"_

~~~

Yaomomo got a visitor a week later.

"Hm?" Someone was knocking on her door. The ravenette rose from her desk, abandoning her notebook with its immaculate sketch of Tamaki wearing a flower crown. "Come in, come in," she muttered, twisting and pulling back the doorknob.

Instantly, a familiar figure with blue hair collided with her, arms wrapped tight around her midsection, the scent of lilies wreathing around her. Back in the hallway, Tsuyu and Hitoshi trailed close behind.

"Yaomomo!" Nejire sobbed into Yaomomo's stomach. "Oh, you're alive! You're really here!"

"Ah... you're going to choke me," the ravenette said with a slight chuckle, and the bluette detached herself, pulling back to wipe glistening tears out of her eyes. Her long hair was silky and cleanly brushed; she hadn't looked this well since a time when Mirio was still alive and Tamaki cared for her.

_Tamaki. Tamaki, Tamaki, Tamaki._ Yaomomo thought she could see his sad eyes in hers. She shook the thought away.

All three of her visitors bore light blue hospital garb similar to hers. She hastily let them in; the nurses shut the door behind her. _Of course. The illusion of privacy, even if they're always watching, always observing, like we're just a human experiment._

"I'm glad to see you're well," Tsuyu murmured, holding Nejire's hand. The two girls sat down on the edge of Yaomomo's bed. Meanwhile, Hitoshi awkwardly turned to ber and wrapped her in a hug. His hands were cool, and he was wordless, merely burying his face in her shoulder instead. She smiled, just a tiny quirk of her lips, as she rubbed his back.

_I'm... happy._

Her friends were alive, and she was alive, too.

Even if she'd screwed everything else up, she had managed to do just this one thing right, and that was enough.

~~~

_"Makoto..."_

_"I know, it'll only hurt her more when she finds out."_

_"So tell her!"_

~~~

"Oh... the sakura are falling." Bleak, silver eyes fixated on the rosy treetops, stray petals floating to the ground by her feet, light as feathers. She chuckled and caught one, turning the tiny pink scale over in her fingers. The color reminded her of the sketches in her notebook, weaved from strokes of a black pen; hazy visions of a boy covered in blood and blossoming, sickly-sweet flowers. Her yellow skirt swirled around her as she strolled along, tailing Makoto as he led her along the red brick path of the campus.

She spent a lot of time with the others the past few days. They'd come to visit her; Nejire would lay on her bed, and they'd talk while Yaomomo drew at her desk. Tsuyu sometimes accompanied her; if Yaomomo saw her, Nejire was sure to be at her side. Hitoshi sometimes came, too, bringing with him a box of small knick-knacks like buttons or stationary. She assumed the doctors gave them to him, although she couldn't fathom why.

"Today would be... April twenty-first, I believe," Makoto presently said. He turned to glance back at her. "When you were first admitted here, they were in peak blossom."

"Wish I could've seen it." She dropped the petal, idly watching it drift to the earth.

"Maybe next year."

They continued along the path, before he brought her into another building. Yaomomo glanced to the sign above the entryway- LICU, it read.

"This is the Long-term Intensive Care Unit," Makoto explained as they entered. He went to the receptionist's desk and asked them something; Yaomomo shuffled along behind him. The wall, floor, and ceiling were all white, just like her room. _So... empty._ Half a minute later, Makoto turned to her and beckoned her down a hallway. "Let's go."

They went up the stairs and traversed through a few hallways to find themselves in a corridor with pale green walls and whitewashed floor tiles. Makoto stopped at a door to their left about hallway down the path. "You ready?" He turned to her, his hand already resting on the doorknob.

"...yes. Why?" Yaomomo bristled; _what's behind that door that makes him ask that..?_

Makoto didn't reply. Instead, he opened the door, and she had no choice but to follow.

~~~

_"I took her to see Shouto today. She panicked and ran, said he might as well be dead."_

_"If you can tell her that much, why can't you tell her the rest of the truth?"_

~~~

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Yaoyorozu." The blonde woman sitting across from her at the table had a sunny grin and a bright demeanor. Yaomomo watched her, captivated by this colorful person, one that fit like a puzzle piece into this room filled with warm pastels that seemed more filled with life and light than whitewashed with flatlined bone. "My name is Kaede Akamatsu. I play the piano, as you can see over there." She gestured to the piano in the corner of her office. "I'm excited to get to know you. Is there anything you want me to call you by?"

"Yaomomo is fine. The 'Miss' is a bit too formal." The ravenette was still too entranced to really think about what she was thinking, too dazed to put on a filter.

**She seems so nice. I wonder, does she know what you did to Tamaki and Shouto and everyone else?**

_Hush, Kyouka._

"Alright." Kaede smiled. "Well, Yaomomo... how's the hospital life been treating you?"

"Hmm..." She had to admit, she hadn't expected therapy at a mental ward to be so casual. _Maybe a tactic to get me to lower my guard? Perhaps this is common practice. It's not like I've studied how therapy works._ "It's... okay, I guess."

"Have you met any other patients?" Yaomomo hesitated and nodded.

"Kind of."

"Ah, tell me about it."

"Well, I met Yuga, if he counts. He's so changed that I don't recognize him anymore." Yaomomo explained. "Makoto took me to see him. I talked a bit about Tsu to him; he spoke to me. He blames himself for how she is now. It's kind of sweet. He was silent again after that."

Kaede tilted her head, thoughtful. "Yuga is a kind soul," she said finally. "Truly, even if he did bad things, he regrets everything. He's spent his time in the hospital alone in his room. What about you? I understand you have a lot of free time." She smoothly diverted the conversation back to Yaomomo.

"Mmh... I draw." She thought back to the notebook, filled with sketches of Tamaki and dark scribbles portraying Kyouka and Cynthia. "And I hang out with my friends. They come visit me; Nejire talks, and sometimes Tsu's with her. Hitoshi shows me his trinkets. Why did the doctors give him those, anyway? Do you know?"

Her gaze met Kaede's unreadable, violet eyes. The blonde paused, a finger to her lips. "It's a coping thing," she replied. "Something to help him center his mind, I'm pretty sure. Of course, I'm not his therapist, so I wouldn't know."

They talked back and forth for a long while, sharing thoughts and experiences, asking questions to one another. What did Yaomomo miss from before the game? Why did she become a hero? Yaomomo supposed it was for the sake of Kaede getting to know her, so she answered them to humor her. _Anything to keep this colorful palette of life for just another minute, anything for a chance to paint the blank canvas that is this hospital even if it would be washed away in a second._

Eventually, Kaede asked if she had any hobbies.

"Well... other than reading, sketching, and making tea, I can play the piano," Yaomomo said. Instantly, Kaede exploded with excitement; she seemed so ever young, then, enthusiastic about her favorite hobby and eager to find someone to share that enjoyment with.

In a whirlwind of multicolored stars and glittering, gemstone fruits, Yaomomo found herself walking to the piano bench, found herself staring down at shiny, black and white keys with Kaede standing behind her.

Her fingers met the keys as she recalled a melody from seemingly a millennium ago, one that reminded her of memories she didn't want to remember, of images she'd tried to forget.

_Tamaki, Shouto..._

_Why did you leave me?_

_It's so bleak here... so cold..._

_I'm sorry, Tamaki, I'm sorry for chasing you away..!_

**There's nothing you can do now. You ruined it. You ruined everything.**

_Shouto... I'm sorry I killed you, too._

_Why didn't you let me die that day?_

**He's too selfless for his own good. He shouldn't have done that; why did he?**

_Kyouka, Cynthia..._

_Why must you always be right..?_

She was falling, and they were falling with her, falling with Tamaki, and flashing, flickering images of Hitoshi, of Nejire, of Tsu, of Shouto, of Denki, all dancing in front of her, taunting her with things she could see but couldn't have.

Tamaki, with a flower tucked in his hair, a smile on his face, whispering something inaudible in her ear. His breath was cool.

Hitoshi, smiling that smile he had reserved only for Mashirao, one he would never wear again.

Nejire, laughing and happy, holding a green-haired girl's hand and walking next to a boy with navy hair and the blue-eyed, sunny embodiment of hope.

Tsuyu, diving through a lake and ensnaring a villain with her frog-like tongue; a girl revered as a hero, smiling as the crowd cheered for her sake.

Shouto, alive and well, offering her a tiny hint of a smile, something just enough for her to get by with.

Denki, happy and outgoing, a hero wielding sparks that died the moment he was trapped in the Game, the moment he realized he was doomed to be a hated traitor- a realization that never came to fruition as the masses' tears rained upon his blistered corpse anyway.

_Why... why did it all have to end..?_

"Yaomomo?"

And then there was a hand on her shoulder, real and alive.

The music stopped, and with it the images melted into oblivion, too.

~~~

_"So you told even Kaede to lie to her, huh?"_

_"It's the best course of action for now. Give her a while; we'll tell her before the funeral, of course."_

~~~

There were rumors floating around, rumors Yaomomo didn't quite understand. People were acting strangely with her.

"Yaomomo, are you okay?"

"Yaomomo, are you lonely?"

"I'm so sorry, Yaomomo."

It didn't make any sense to her. She was okay, she was fine. She had her friends, she had her notebook, she had Mukuro talking to her in her room when she was off-duty, she had Kaede and her colorful being. Why wouldn't she be okay?

But of course.

The voices in her head.

**Don't you miss us?**

~~~

_"We've tried telling her many times. She doesn't understand."_

_"This is your fault, I suppose. It's too late, now."_

~~~

The funeral was a month later.

"It'll just be a private ceremony for you survivors," Kaede said, brushing Yaomomo's hair. The two were in her room, with the latter sitting in her rolling chair. "It's an open casket ceremony, so you can see all of your friends and say your goodbyes."

"Okay."

Kaede placed a little silver barrette in her black hair and stepped back to admire her handiwork. "There, done. Let's go, now. I'm sure the car is waiting outside."

The pair walked down the hall and outside, stepping out under the too-pretty, cerulean sky. They boarded the second booth of the black limousine waiting for them; they must've been the last to appear, as the vehicle began moving as soon as they were settled.

They drove through town. Yaomomo stared out the tinted window, gazing idly upon the people passing by on the street. "It's all so... normal," she muttered. "So normal."

"Yeah," Kaede murmured, her voice just above a whisper. "It's so much livelier than one would expect, considering the villains' reign over society, huh?" She paused. "You were still in school when the initial takeover happened, right?"

"Right." Yaomomo turned away from the window and twirled her drooping ahoge around her pointer finger. "It was... frightening. Kind of. Crime rates increased, and the heroes were forced to work double-time. I'm surprised they managed to keep U.A. open at all."

"Heroes can make miracles happen, sometimes," the blonde mused. She sighed and turned, her eyes landing outside on the nameless people in the nameless streets. "We all miss the old days, when people could afford to dream and live easily."

The two sat in silence for the rest of the ride, staring out the window and lost in their own thoughts. Finally, the limousine slowed to a halt outside of a black building. Kaede led the younger inside, where two people dressed in all black greeted them to take them to the ceremony chambers. Yaomomo was dimly aware of the others behind them.

They emerged into a room with a high ceiling and a display of white flowers covering the walls. As they stepped inside, Kaede and Chisa hung back against the door. An attendant handed Yaomomo a box of flowers, lilies and wisteria and chrysanthemums. She stared blankly at them.

"Because this is a private ceremony specifically for the students who had a personal connection to the deceased in the Game, it will consist only of an open casket arrangement. Please place flowers in the coffins of those who were close to you and say your farewells." The attendants bowed and stepped away, allowing the survivors to enter the room, laying their eyes upon the too-many coffins around the white chamber.

"Go ahead," Kaede whispered, her words just reaching Yaomomo's ears as she began to make her way forwards, entranced by the golden frames of the petal-strewn portraits, by the oak caskets shining with gloss. The ravenette cautiously stepped towards one nearing the left under a familiar brunette face.

"Ochako..." The girl was dressed more beautifully in death than possibly ever in life, a pristine white kimono with pastel pink sakura decorating the pale cloth. On her chest, the magenta wrist weight from her old hero outfit laid under her folded hands. A few pieces of sweet, sickly sweet mochi were scattered around her neatly brushed mocha locks and perfect, round face, ghastly skin painted with gentle makeup.

"...rest well." Yaomomo placed a white chrysanthemum at her side and moved on to the caskets next to hers.

A lock of wisteria, tucked into jade tresses.

A buttercup-yellow daffodil, nestled into the crook of a neck.

"..." She walked away, searching for her other friends, repeating the same ritual over and over for each, flooding her overcrowded mind with too many memories to count, both good and bad.

Yuga wreathed flowers around Kouji's vase. She passed by him, glimpsed the portrait of a boy with the distinct head of a raven. The ex-Detective gazed down upon his form with Tsuyu at her side, staring at his bandaged eyes and unsmiling beak. With a pang, and a dark chill that gripped her nerves, she found herself missing the boy who'd wore a tiny smile and a visage of unwavering confidence, the boy who'd **gotten his guts ripped out and thrown on the floor.**

She was silent as she slowly, emotionlessly placed a crimson camellia in his coffin. Tsuyu moved to tuck her own lily into his feathers; their fingers brushed, a moment of sad, quiet understanding. Her hand was cold, almost as cold as the corpses' skin. _Is she truly alive, after all of this? After everything..._

Yaomomo walked away, willing herself to leave behind the boy whose death was now etched into the backs of her eyelids and the girl who was haunted by all of the losses piled upon her broken back.

Hitoshi stood by Mashirao's coffin, as to be expected. He was tucking flowers around the closed casket; _of course nobody wants a beheaded kid on display. It's not like one could hide that wound with a handful of gauze._ Crystal tears dripped down his face as he gently whispered something to the deceased, quiet enough that Yaomomo couldn't hear him.

Meanwhile, she found herself staring down the body of a girl with short, violet hair, clothed in a black kimono. Her eyes were shut, her lips parted slightly in death. She blinked; once, twice. For a moment, she thought she could see the other blink, too, blank, mismatched eyes meeting silver ones, but when she paused to look again, Kyouka was asleep once more.

She missed her, missed the student hero who always worked her hardest for her friends, missed the girl who liked to play the bass, missed the victim who'd just wanted to be free from the despair by succumbing to it and falling upon an ivory blade.

A vision of blood, of guts, of a body on the gym floor, flooded her senses.

The flickering mindscape, a hollow, black void where a girl tucked polaroids into her hands, came into view.

She needed her, needed her to stay in sight, in mind, even if she did nothing but whisper cruel nothings in her ears. She needed her presence, her voice, in whatever form the contents took.

"...rest well, Kyouka. I hope you stay with me a little while longer."

**Of course! I'll be by your side forever, my best friend. I would never leave you, not in life or death~!**

A strand of wisteria, curled against the cheek of the one with purple hair, hanging, pastel violet like the divine fingers of demons against pale skin.

A handful of white sakura blossoms, fallen petals lying around a head of electric blonde.

There was one last person she had to see now, turning away from Denki's coffin and his makeup-done face. She searched for that familiar head of blue hair, because where would she be but at his side?

"Ah... Yaomomo." Nejire, clutching her near-empty box, turned to face her, striking her with a pair of bleak, cerulean orbs overflowing with tears. They were standing over the body of an all-too familiar boy bearing petals and butterflies, one who had found a blade sunken deep into his skull, who had whispered something beautiful to Yaomomo that was just out of reach, something she just couldn't recall. "You're here to say your goodbyes, too... right?"

Yaomomo, eyes fixed unblinkingly upon Tamaki's angelic face, nodded. In her peripheral, the bluette began to walk away. "I'll... I'll give you a moment, then."

And then she was gone, and it was just Yaomomo and Tamaki and Kyouka and Cynthia in their dark little world.

"Hey... Tamaki." Yaomomo didn't dare take her eyes from the corpse before her, the ethereal being who'd faded at her hand. "I'm... I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry for everything."

She could see herself now, driving the knife into his head, standing by as he wrote his note with a shaky hand, facing him in the dimly lit hallway as he offered her a way out. She could remember it all, his Killing Game persona. She didn't know anything before that; she didn't know who he was as Mirio's beloved and Nejire's friend, she didn't know what drove him to be a hero, she didn't know what he was like at school.

She didn't know anything.

She wished to remember just a little bit more, just another word he spoke, another memory from the fragmented glass of those blurry days, but she couldn't. She couldn't remember anything but the image of a boy smiling sadly as she brushed back his hair with the kitchen knife, the image of blood on her hands and blood on his face.

"..." Something felt wrong. Something felt incomplete.

She'd never know what it was, though.

For now, it was just her clutching a photo album next to a tea table with a white parasol, under which three figures -two laughing, one silent- shared censored pieces of memory. She, the one with tape around her mouth and fuchsia on her fingers, bore nothing more than snapshots of the story.

Flickering polaroids, vivid in the moments that were taken but empty of the ones missed.

White chrysanthemums and blazing wisteria bloomed around his eternally dozing figure. A crown of violet petals ringed his dark hair. Silver eyes dully glazed over a dead boy on a bed of flowers, over the butterfly on his chest.

"Rest well, Tamaki."

Her expression was blank as she stepped away.

~~~

_"It's all wrong. Everything is wrong."_

__

__

_"But of course. It was your idea to bury the truth, and now you can't revive it."_

_"I'm sorry. I know you care for her a lot."_

__

__

_"Why apologize to me? You should be apologizing to her for screwing up her entire life."_

_"I did. She didn't understand."_

__

__

_"Of course."_

_"..."_

__

__

_"Mukuro?"_

_"You've done enough for her."_

__

__

_"I'm sorry."_

_"I'll protect her. Maybe it's too late for a psychologist to save her, what with your mind games feeding her unshakable lies that since turned true. But I'll try to rescue this girl, anyway. I'm sure I can do it."_

__

__

_"How could you be so confident, with her as she is now?"_

_"Because I've seen people fall to evil, succumb to despair. I can't possibly let her fall, too. Not when she's still reachable."_

__

__

_"...good luck, then."_

~~~

"Here we go~" Yaomomo placed a dish of sushi before each of her friends, the food they'd made together that she'd had the courtesy of serving. Through the parted curtains, the warm, late-afternoon light streamed into the room, illuminating everything in a fog of gold.

"Thank you!" Nejire chirped, graciously accepting her plate. "I'm sure this'll be delicious."

Hitoshi and Tsuyu thanked her, too, in turn, and the ravenette settled at her own seat to eat with them. They fell into idle chatter about school and the likes, content with the simplicity of a shared meal on a sunny weekend.

"Have you done the homework yet? The essay from Gozu-sensei," Yaomomo asked, picking up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks.

"No," Tsuyu murmured. "I have a draft, but I still have to revise it."

"Same." Nejire threw her long, periwinkle locks over her shoulder and moved to eat. "I've only revised the first paragraph. Maybe it's a bad idea to cram tonight, but I suppose it's a little too late."

"I've finished it already," Hitoshi chimed in. "I'm almost done with my other work, too. What about you guys? How's the homework load for your courses?"

"It's pretty intensive," Yaomomo remarked. "Essays twice a month, homework all week and on the weekends. Manageable, but intense."

"Nice," the ex-Swimmer murmured. "I've got a moderate amount. It's not as bad as Yaomomo's, though."

"Me too," Nejire said.

The group spoke for a while. Yaomomo opted to sit by and listen more than speak herself, eating her sushi in peace. Behind her, she was sure she could feel Mukuro's gentle gaze lying on her back; ever since Yaomomo had moved into this apartment near the hospital campus, the guard had decided to act as her personal homekeeper of sorts. She still worked part-time at the hospital, but she was often in the ravenette's apartment, watching her and keeping her company when her friends weren't around, which wasn't often; they lived in the same apartment building, after all, and went to the same college, albeit with differing courses of study. Yaomomo enjoyed her company, although she wondered why Mukuro would decide to take such a liking to her, too.

"Say, have any of you visited Shouto yet?" she asked in the present. The ex-Detective recalled what it'd been like when he'd first roused; she'd panicked and ran, the sight of those eyes bringing up memories of blue flame and wilting flowers and tears and a courtroom. "Is he okay?"

"He's doing well," Nejire said, grinning. "I saw him just the other day. He's recovering."

"You're gonna do exposure therapy with him, right?" Tsuyu inquired. The ravenette nodded. "I think it'll be great. You'll be comfortable and friendly with him sooner than you'd know it."

Yaomomo offered the jadette a smile. "I hope so, too. Thanks."

~~~

"...and here's the apartment." Mukuro led the way as Yaomomo helped Shouto along, clutching his arm as they entered her home. It'd been a few years since he'd awoken, perhaps two or three; she had lost count of time a long time ago.

"It's not the fanciest of places, but it's close by and you'll have both me and Mukuro!" Yaomomo said, delighted as she guided Shouto to the couch so he could sit down. Even if his physical therapy had allowed him to walk, that didn't mean he could do it for a long time yet. "Ah, I'll make tea."

"And I'll bring the luggage to Shouto's room, clean it up a little," Mukuro offered. "Give you two some alone time to catch up." She shot Yaomomo a sly smile before walking off, singular suitcase in tow.

The ravenette smiled and went to the kitchen, humming as she set the water on the stove and grabbed a box of cookies from the pantry. She brought them back to the other man's side in the living room, where he was reclining and observing the space. "Help yourself." She set the box on the coffee table.

"Ah, thank you."

The two idly talked over snacks, mostly Shouto asking questions and Yaomomo eagerly detailing her life in the outside world, until the water went off. Yaomomo left and brewed tea before bringing the drinks and two teacups back on a silver tray.

"You said you didn't live fancy, and yet you have a tea set befitting a noble," Shouto joked, picking up his cup by the saucer to examine it. He placed it back on the table. "Do you have company, perhaps?"

"Well, of course," she replied. "Nejire, Tsu, and Hitoshi often come over often, since we all live in the same building. I'd like to think when Yuga finally gets better, we'd be able to invite him too."

_I wonder..._

Shouto paused, as if confused, before a slight smile slipped onto his face; forced resignation. "I look forward to seeing them more often," he simply said.

_What's wrong?_

~~~

"Today was fun, wasn't it?"

"Mmh."

"Come along. It's getting late, and we have to catch the bus," Mukuro said, grinning. She was wearing a gray shirt and black jeans, carrying a woven bag as well as a backpack. A large sunhat sat atop her damp raven locks; she'd enjoyed swimming as much as the rest of the ladies on that idyllic day in a pastel future.

"Don't worry~" Nejire said brightly as they began to make their way along the beach. "We'll certainly make it back in time."

The group of six quietly continued onwards, with Mukuro leading and Yaomomo lagging behind. She stopped once more to glance back at the lake, at the glossy waves streaked crimson with the dying light of the sun, the wispy clouds drooping against the horizon line. _How... lovely._

"Yaomomo, are you coming?" She turned to see that Shouto had halted, as well as their black-haired guard up ahead. He was offering her his hand, his skin dyed pink in the blossoming light.

However, she ignored him, merely gazing over his shoulder to the empty space between him and Mukuro. "Where are the others..? Where did they go?" she asked.

"They..." Shouto hesitated, his hand falling. He looked almost tired as he met her gaze.

"They're dead, Yaomomo. They've been dead for years."

"Oh, but of course we aren't!" Nejire's voice rang through the air, and suddenly the blue-haired woman was there again, long, periwinkle locks brushing the small of her back. Tsuyu was clutching her hand, and Hitoshi was at her side. "We're all right here for you, Yaomomo. **Whenever you need us."**

**Just like me, and just like Kyouka.**

****

****

**We'll always be here, Yaomomo! We wouldn't leave you, ever!**

_Of course they're dead._

__

__

_Of course I know that._

_It's just as Shouto is saying._

A girl with choppy locks, another with blue and red hair, a boy with raven locks and a navy highlight. Their images flickered in her head, smiling down upon her with crooked grins.

_And yet, they're still right here with me, in me, and I can't just ignore them, even if they're only cut-outs from the past._

"...don't be silly, Shouto." The ravenette said instead, smiling contently. "They can't be dead if they're right there behind you, right? I must've mislooked for a moment- it's not like they'd run off and leave us. Sorry for worrying you."

The heterochronous man shot a glance over his shoulder, turned back to her, and sighed. Mukuro's expression was unreadable; she'd seen this familiar sight too many times to even feel despair or sorrow or anything at all. "I knew you'd say that. Alright. Now that we're all here, let's go home, then."

"Sure." She took his hand, and they began to walk once again, a sinking sun lowering behind her in a bloom of golden rays.

**We'll never leave you, Yaomomo!**

****

****

**I love you, my dear.**

**... ... ...**

Yaomomo wasn't lonely, of course she wasn't. She could never be, not with so many cold hands reaching out to grab hers, right?

And yet, there was a hole in her heart.

_Tamaki._

__

__

_Why won't you speak to me?_

_Not then, and not now. Why are you quiet?_

**... ... ...**

It didn't matter, though, she decided, shaking him away for the moment. Not when she had everyone else filling up her head like butterflies flocking to nectar. She followed her friends along the golden sand, eyes fixated on their flickering, fuzzy figures.

There were trails of wisteria knotted snugly around her head, her brain, her ears, her eyes; violet petals clouding her senses, choking her alive.

She'd never know, never hear the truth.

They were dead. They were all dead.

It was just her and Shouto and Mukuro, and the people behind the flowers.

_Truly, it is a beautifully lonely existence she of wisteria leads._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> { haunted au. }


	57. Bonus 3 : Free Time Events - Denki Kaminari

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

Yaomomo sighed, slumping over the oak desk in her ornate, mansion-style dorm. Her notepad and pen laid next to her hand, the paper already filled with little doodles of flowers and kittens. “What shall I do..?” It was the fourth day the class had been trapped in U.A., locked in their own academy by the villains, and investigation had been proving to be fruitless so far. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was still early afternoon; nobody seemed to be organizing anything today, leaving the teens to their own whims.

_ I do not believe anything bad will happen, _ she mused. _ Our class… I believe in them. _

In relative safety within the walls, for now, she could truly do nothing but sit still and wait for a miracle, a sudden discovery or a rescue team. _ I have some free time today… might as well go out and do something. Maybe leaving people alone in such a frightening situation isn’t a good idea. _

She wandered the halls for a while until she stumbled upon a strange little room. _ This was a walk-in supply closet before… _ Above the doorframe, a neon sign reading “Prize Corner” beckoned her to enter.

Curious, she stepped inside a small, warmly lit room with a table against the back wall. On it was a rather large gashapon machine, filled with plastic capsules of various sizes. Peering through the plastic, she could see a variety of strange items in them- curled up whips, hair accessories, and food products alike were tucked into the machine. Around it, large plushies, toys, and everyday items laid on the wooden counter. “A… mono-mono machine?” That’s what a second sign read on the wall behind it. A short description of how it was used was written, as well.

“‘Insert monocoins into the gashapon… for gift items. If you give a classmate something they like, something good might happen.’” She reached into the pocket on the side of her skirt, tugging out the three bronze coins she’d discovered the other day. Monokuma’s face was engraved on both sides. “Are these… monocoins?”

She approached the machine. _ Couldn’t hurt to try. _Inserting one, she turned the knob, and out popped a plastic capsule. She inserted two more, one by one, for two more prizes. “How interesting.” Picking up the capsules, she found a water flute -a plastic toy shaped like a bird-, a worm on a string, and a small, cheap camera. “Hm.” She pocketed the items and went on her way down the hall. “Wonder if anyone else has tried that…”

She eventually ran into Denki in the cafeteria. “Hi, Yaomomo!” He approached her, good-natured as ever, starry-eyed and all smiles. “Are you busy?”

“Hello to you, too. And no, I am not. I was searching for something to do,” she admitted.

“Perfect! Do you want to have tea together?”

Yaomomo gratefully accepted the offer. The two of them prepared tea and snacks in the kitchen while idly chatting, before sitting back down in the cafeteria and sharing their meal.

_ ‘If you give it to a friend, something good might happen,’ huh? _ Yaomomo thought, sipping her tea from a ceramic cup. _ Denki likes trendy things, right? Wasn’t that worm on a string all the rage last week? I have no use for it, so maybe I should give it to him. _

“Hey, Denki.” He looked up, setting his scone back on the plate. “Have you seen the mono-mono machine yet?”

“No. What is it?” He visibly perked up in curiosity.

“It’s this gashapon machine on the third floor. I tried it, and it gave me a few little items.” She pulled the capsule with the worm out of her pocket. “I got this, and I wanted to give it to you.”

“Huh?” Denki took the item and inspected it before his eyes lit up in delight. “Oh! I’ve been thinkin’ about getting this kinda thing for ages now! Thank you so much!”

“It’s only been four days,” Yaomomo chuckled. “Didn’t you have one back at the dorms?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s been a long four days.” A frown slid onto his face, and he set the capsule down next to his cup. “Speaking of which, how’re you holding up, with all that’s happening?”

“Well… it could be better, could be worse.” She sighed. “It certainly is a shock that the villains just took over the whole school in one night.”

“With All Might… gone, and All for One reigning havoc over the country… it really doesn’t seem like a stretch in hindsight.” Denki rested his chin on his head. “And then Tenya…”

“I miss him, too.”

“Yeah. It’s all so strange, without him around. I hadn’t realized how much we’d all depended on him.” His eyes misted over. “I wish he were around… things would be different, for the better.”

“That might be true. But right now, he isn’t with us, and dreaming about it will not get us anywhere,” Yaomomo gently chided. “He would want us to work together and get results, with or without him.”

“You’re right.” Denki’s lips quirked up just the slightest bit. “We can’t wallow in the past. It won’t change anything.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“Looking to the future, then- how do you think this’ll all play out?” The Electrician poked at his scone. “What with this Killing Game…”

“I think it should be fine, in all honesty,” Yaomomo replied. “I believe in our class. None of us have the mental capability to raise their hand against a friend, unless they were truly desperate. Except all of us have companions to hold onto and hope to see, so I would not worry too much about that.”

“I see.” He paused. “You always seem to be able to see the good in things, Yaomomo.”

“I try.”

“How are you always so optimistic?”

“Well… the one time I wasn’t, I got down on myself and it hindered my performance in the final exams, remember?” She recalled how weak she’d felt then, how boldly Shouto had motivated her. “I can’t let that happen again. If I do, then I can’t protect you and my other friends from the villains.”

“How brave.” Denki laughed- a light, musical sound. “You’re quite the hero.”

“So are you. We are all still heroes, even in this place, right? Don’t you remember how we fought so bravely at the U.S.J.?”

“More like how bravely you and Kyouka fought. I went cuckoo halfway through, and you two had to save me.”

“You still fought very well, though, while you lasted. Don’t discredit yourself on that.” Yaomomo smiled. “And you worked hard to improve after that, right? You did well at the sports festival, even if you did trick me into wearing that… atrocious outfit.”

“Hehe… sorry ‘bout that.” He was laughing, though, as the two delighted over the memories of what felt like a distant past. “Shouto kind of carried us along, though.”

“Of course. He’s the strongest student in the class, isn’t he?”

“Do you fancy him? I can see why- I’d fancy him, too, if the girls in our class weren’t so cute,” Denki teased, shooting her a wink that made her cringe.

“Ah, no. Not like that.” She paused, a finger to her lips in thought. “Maybe like that? I think he’s strong, and he has looks, I guess..?”

“You two would be such a power couple,” he continued, grinning ear to ear. “Seriously, the way you fought together at the final exams? That was so cool!”

“That was him motivating me.”

“But you did so well! You beat _ Aizawa-sensei. _That’s something to admire.” Denki was practically glowing with enthusiasm, smiling in a way that vaguely reminded her of a puppy. “You even kept your head straight during the villain attack at the training camp, and you were brave enough to go out and rescue Katsuki, while I hid and stuck my head in the sand. You’re seriously the coolest!”

“Oh, please, you’re flattering me.” Yaomomo’s ears flushed rose. “I only did what I could. I just don’t like seeing people get hurt.”

“Well, to me, you’re one of the most heroic of our class,” Denki said. “As long as you’re here, everything should be okay!”

_ Being with Denki is like being free again, _ the Affluent Progeny thought warmly, unable to contain her smile. _ Hearing his words… it’s soothing. _

“Ha. With you motivating me like that, how could I not be optimistic?” she said aloud with a chuckle. “For all the credit you’re giving me, you aren’t giving yourself any, you know? I’d say you have the heart of a hero, too. You care for your friends, and you always do your best for them. As long as you’re here, making everyone happy… we’ll be alright.”

“Hmm.” Denki frowned. “You give me a bit too much credit, don’t you think? Especially compared to yourself.” 

“Please. I mean it.”

“If you insist.”

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 1/5< _

_ >Denki’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 2 : Daily Life<

“...”

“...bored…”

Yaomomo sighed and set the rather uninteresting novel she’d found back into its shelf. She had been wandering the library for a while now, with no catchy books in sight. _ Maybe I should find someone to chat with, or something. _

She had spent the morning with Kyouka until the violette decided to go monocoin hunting with Kouji. Yaomomo herself had already accumulated a fair amount of the bronze coins; she now had a tote bag of little trinkets in her room, and she occasionally carried a few universally enjoyed items around in her pocket, in case she ran into someone who might need a pick-me-up.

Her planning paid off, as she found herself face to face with Denki in the trophy room by the gym. “Ah, hello!” He turned when she approached. “What do you need?”

_ He seems… unenthusiastic. _His hair was a little messy and his eyes not quite focused on her. “Well, I was hoping to hang out with you, or something, if you don’t have anything else to do,” Yaomomo offered.

“Mmh… sure. Where should we go?”

The two of them trained in the gym for a while, before showering in the separate locker rooms and rejoining outside. They went to get a cool drink from the cafeteria vending machine, and soon they found themselves sitting on the half-wall by the tables.

“Ah… here. This is for you.” Yaomomo took one of her mono-mono machine toys out of her pocket and presented it to him; a little watch. It glittered gold in the light, and the strap was light, adjustable, and stretchy. _ Maybe he’ll like it. _

Luckily for her, he accepted it with a grin. “Oh, wow. This is super cool! Thanks, Yaomomo!”

“No problem.”

Denki put the watch on, but even so, he seemed… _ distant _to her. As if his mind weren’t with her. “Hey, Denki… are you okay?”

“Hm? Me? Of course I’m okay. Just a little shaken up from the trial, I guess…” He trailed off. _ Of course… After all, we had to watch Ochako get executed right before our eyes, and Rikidou died at her hand… _

She sighed, offering him a pitying glance. _ What could I do to lift his spirits..? Seeing him so down, so quiet… it’s unsettling. _

“Oh!” She remembered now; she’d found a book about chocolate in the library. Considering the fact her quirk required her to build up a bit of chub, she was well versed in her sweets, and these rich candies were one of her favorites. She’d discovered instructions for making it in the cookbook; upon trying it out the previous day, she considered herself successful as a blossoming chocolatier. “How about we make chocolates together? I have a recipe.”

“Hmm… that does sound interesting. Let’s try it out.” Thankfully, Denki accepted the offer.

The two walked down to the library, grabbed the book, and made their way back to the kitchen, where Yaomomo cracked the pages open to the recipe section. “There’s some more complex ones… but for a quick snack, let’s try the simplest one here.” She pointed to the first one- it only had four ingredients.

They gathered the ingredients and began to work. Denki started melting the coconut oil on the stovetop, while Yaomomo measured the cocoa powder and honey. They started preparing orange zest together, grinding bits of rind off of the citrus fruit.

“Y’know, this is oddly relaxing,” Denki murmured. “Just hanging out, making food… it’s a nice change of pace.”

“Of course. I am happy if you are,” Yaomomo said, her heart growing light. _ Nice to see him a bit less out of it. _The one thing she feared was that he’d lose his characteristic spark in the Game, and the possibility seemed a bit too great for comfort.

“Mmh. Thank you for this, really.” And then he was smiling, too, and she couldn’t help but grin as well. “You’re always looking out for me, for your classmates… you’re like the Ultimate Perfect Role Model, or something.”

Both of them shared a laugh over that one. “At least that sounds nicer than ‘Ultimate Affluent Progeny’,” she said.

His laugh was like music to her ears.

_ It was only unfortunate that she wouldn’t be hearing it again for a long, long time._

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 2/5< _

_ >Denki’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 3 : Daily Life<

“Hey, Denki.” Much to her distress, the electric-blonde teen nearly jumped out of his skin when she called his name down the hall. _ I’d expected this. _She bit her lip. She’d noticed how anxious he’d been after Katsuki- no, Yuga-’s trial. Combined with Kyouka’s increasingly concerning detachment from reality, Denki’s shaky voice and dull eyes weren’t helping one bit with Yaomomo’s worry.

“Oh, um, hi.” Denki stopped and turned to face her. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.” She shook her head. “I should be asking if _ you’re _ okay, Denki.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He brushed off her concern, although his perpetual little frown ate away at her with every breath she took. “Say, do you want to come to my room? There’s something I want to show you, but I left it there.”

Yaomomo would be lying if she said she didn’t hesitate when given the invitation. She couldn’t help but be a little suspicious, albeit only for half a second. _ No, I can’t think like that. I can’t give way to those thoughts. _“Of course. Lead the way.”

Upon arriving at his adobe, she found herself met with a rather normal looking dorm room, spare for one thing- the fact that there were various electrical circuits littered across the floor. “Ignore the mess, please. I don’t really have anywhere to put them…” Denki stepped over a little circuit board attached to a couple of lightbulbs and made his way to his desk. He picked an item covered in a red cloth off of it, before returning to her side. “Here.”

Yaomomo carefully removed the piece of fabric, gasping as it revealed a stunning, ivory rose, preserved in a glass tube with a cork. “A rose in vitro,” Denki murmured, averting his gaze as she took it, entranced by the perfectly white petals within the glass. “I thought you might like it.”

“It’s… beautiful.” Yaomomo was almost too stunned to speak. “This… is from the mono-mono machine? I love it.” She raised her gaze to meet Denki’s, a smile on her face. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” He paused. “Do you think it’s fancy enough?”

“Eh?”

“I mean, with your talent and all… and I’ve seen your house- you’re richer than rich. Nothing in this place really lives up to your tastes, I know…” He seemed worried, wringing his hands together, and a pang shot through Yaomomo’s heart.

“It’s fine, really. And my talent isn’t really even a _ talent. _It’s just a label saying my parents have money.” A sigh. “But, on the other hand… what is your Ultimate talent, exactly?” she inquired. _ The Ultimate Electrician… _

“Oh, um, my parents are electricians. I learned a few things from them, and I sometimes help them on the job,” he explained. “I guess they just couldn’t think of anything better for me…”

“Same here.” There was a slightly awkward pause; _ he’s become so quiet. The Bomber thing really shook him, huh? And with all his friends fighting… _“When we get out of here… what do you want to do first?” she opted to ask, trying to start a conversation. She fully expected him to say something along the lines of relaxing at home and having a nice meal.

“Hm. Well… I want to see my little sister, Ichika. She’s being held prisoner here… my parents, too. I mean, if we get out, the heroes would definitely save them with us, right?” Denki’s voice was soft as he spoke about his family. Yaomomo could tell he was looking to her for comfort and consolation, for her to say they were okay. _ Despair… that’s what you feel, right? _

For her, perhaps that thought was even more frightening than seeing a dead body.

“Of course,” she gently said. “They are safe for now, I’m sure, as the villains would not hurt their prisoners for no reason. And I have no doubt that the heroes will save them. Rescuing missing people is part of their job.”

“Ah… that makes sense. Thank you.” Denki seemed to relax a bit, but the anxiety that had surfaced in his expression -a downcast gaze, a frown, a slight furrowing of his brows- when he spoke of his sister did not dissipate.

“Could you tell me more about your sister?” Yaomomo pushed. His troubled expression was quite distressing to watch; _ maybe if I can get him to explain, I could comfort him. _He hadn’t smiled once in their entire conversation, other than a tiny quirk of his lips when he’d handed her the rose.

“Ichika…” Mentioning her seemed to put a damper on his already dark expression, much to Yaomomo’s regret. “She’s eight, turning nine in May. She likes rainy days. I remember how she’d sing and dance outside, and move the earthworms drowning in puddles to the lawn.” He paused, his gaze clouding over. “I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is. She’s a strong little girl, right?” No dainty princess would play with creatures in the dirt and jump under silver clouds until she was drenched; nobody except Cynthia, maybe, Yaomomo’s best friend from her mansion. She’d loved toads, for some reason; right after it rained, she would go outside if she had free time and search for them. Sometimes Yaomomo accompanied her; the maid would feed them grubs she dug up and kept from the garden. _Ichika reminds me of her._ _I hope both of them are alright._

“...yeah. I suppose.” A pause. Denki looked up and met her gaze, unsmiling and dull-eyed. “You always know what to say. I’m glad you’re here with us, Yaomomo.”

_ I wonder… _

“...I’m glad you’re here, too.”

_ What’s wrong?_

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 3/5< _

_ >Denki’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 3 : Daily Life<

The next day, Yaomomo still couldn’t get her encounter with Denki out of her head.

“He seemed so distressed… I wonder if he’s okay,” she murmured, exiting the mono-mono machine room with her desired item in her bag. She’d gone in to get a specific trinket she’d seen through the gashapon window a few days ago; she figured Denki would enjoy it. “I hope he’ll like this…”

She wandered the halls until she found him waving farewell to Mashirao and Hitoshi at the gym. “Hi, Denki,” she greeted as she approached

“Oh- hello.” His eyes landed on her bag. “What’re you doing?”

“I was at the mono-mono machine,” she explained. “More importantly, are you busy right now? I was hoping we could hang out, or something. Want to go to the library with me?”

“Ah, sure. I’m free.” Denki quietly allowed Yaomomo to lead him downstairs. They picked out a few novels and sat down side-by-side and read for an hour, before Denki decided to take a break and she took the chance to give him her present.

“Hey, Denki.” He turned to her with a dull, distant gaze. “I brought something for you again.” She tugged a rather large gashapon capsule out of her bag and presented it to him. “Here. A figurine of Togami, the Golden Eagle hero. You’re a fan of him, right?”

“Oh… I am.” A small smile slipped onto Denki’s face as he turned the capsule around in his palm. _ Better than nothing. _It was reassuring to see him at least cracking the bare minimum of a smile. “This is pretty neat… thank you. You have an eye for good gifts.”

He pocketed the item and awkwardly fell silent once more. Yaomomo observed his expression; he seemed as troubled as the day before, his lips curving back into a frown. “Hey, Denki…”

“Huh?” He met her gaze. “Um, you look worried. Are you okay?”

At that, the Affluent Progeny couldn’t help but chuckle. “How ironic. I was actually just worried about you. Are you okay?” Her expression grew grim again. “You’ve seemed to be lost in thought both today and yesterday. Was it something I said? If it is, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you by asking about your family.”

“Oh, no, no, don’t apologize. It’s nothing about you.” Denki sighed heavily. “It’s… hmm. Can I trust you?”

“Eh? What kind of question is that?” Yaomomo blinked at him. _ Can he trust… me? Does he not? _

“Ah, uh, I didn’t mean it like that, I swear-!” He immediately jumped to clarify. “It’s just… I’ve never… told anyone this kind of stuff.”

“Whatever’s on your mind, you can tell me. I would keep your secrets. Even if you say you killed someone, or something, I would not dare to call you out,” she reassured. _ Although I do hope that’s not the case. _“So, please… trust me.”

_ Anything to see you smile again, to see you happy. _

“Mmh… okay.” He grimanced, tilting his head to meet her gaze. “Well, on top of the Game… Ichika’s…” A long pause followed her name, as if he were coming up with the words. “Ichika’s… always been a sickly child,” he finally said. “She’s small, and often physically weak… so I’m worried about her. Being cooped up in some underground prison can’t be good for her.”

“Oh.” Yaomomo blinked. “I’m sure the villains wouldn’t let her die in their care, though. There is no reason for them to kill a little kid like her, so I’m positive she’ll live through all this.”

“Mmh. I hope you’re right.” Denki sighed. “But enough about me. Do you have a sister, perhaps?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I have a little sister- she’s thirteen, though. We aren’t very close, but I sometimes help her with schoolwork, and we can exchange idle talk. Her quirk is like mine, except she draws matter in from the surrounding area and reshapes it into anything she wants.” A pause; the image of a little girl with Denki’s hair dancing in the rain came to mind. _ The rain. _

“But I do have someone else whom I am very close to,” Yaomomo added. Denki seemed to perk up, interested in her words. “Her name’s Cynthia. She’s a maid at my home, and we have been best friends since we were little. Ichika reminds me of her- she likes toads, so after it rains, she always goes outside and feeds the toads in the pond behind the mansion.” She couldn’t help but smile now, thinking of that lovely memory. “I’m sure Ichika and Cynthia would get along well.”

“They would.” And then Denki was smiling too, a small, glowing, crescent-moon smile, the one Yaomomo had been missing so dearly. “When we all escape… we should meet up and let them hang out. Ichika likes people, and she’s very mature. I’m sure a maid of Yaoyorozu status would mesh with her.”

“Ah… Cynthia’s quite klutzy, actually,” Yaomomo chimed in. “Not as refined as you might think. Her parents are also our maids, so she was born into the job. She can be a little scatterbrained at times, but she’s quite strong physically, and her common sense shines in the face of problems.”

“Ichika’s quite the opposite, then,” Denki joked. “She’s always so poised, so mature… when she dances in the rain, that’s when she kind of lets loose. She’s so energetic that I feel like her little body might burst from overexcitement.” He chuckled lightly, and Yaomomo’s mood lifted tenfold in a snap. “Hm? Yaomomo? You’re making a weird face.”

“Eh?” Yaomomo poked at her cheeks; she must’ve been grinning a little too widely. “Ah. Can’t a girl smile a little?” she teased.

“Of course. What’s gotten you in such a good mood all of a sudden? Surely it can’t be listening to me dump all my worries on you.”

“Actually, that’s exactly it.” Denki raised an eyebrow at her, and she couldn’t help but giggle. “Seeing you lighten up a bit is like seeing the old you again. I like it.”

“Oh.” He seemed surprised. “That’s… nice to hear. It’s good to know I somehow made you happy.”

“Anything you do could, really. You have this kind of spark… your presence lights up a room.” Yaomomo paused. “And even if your light wanes, faced with all this death and despair… I’m sure you being safe and alive would be enough for me, anyway.”

“You flatter me. But thank you.” He smiled again. “I’m honored you care so much about me.”

_>Obtained Friendship Fragment : 4/5< _

_ >Denki’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 4 : Daily Life<

Yaomomo sighed, setting her pen aside. She stared down at her paper; the image of a raven with blood dripping from its beak met her gaze. _ I’m the detective now, huh? _ Hanta and Mina’s dead eyes were burned into the front of her brain, searing holes into her memory. _ At least they were already dead when they were eaten. _

The ravenette flipped the page in her notebook, putting the doodle out of sight. She’d already drawn a spider and a pair of scissors before that. _ Better stop, before it’s all I can think about. _ A distraction was in order, she decided as she rose and headed for the door. _ Maybe I can find Kyouka, or Denki, or maybe them together. They’ve been hanging out a lot recently. _ The trial was wearing on all of them; she could only imagine how stressed the Electrician was in particular, opposed to Eijirou and Katsuki while the rest of his friends were dead. _ Yeah. I should go check on him. _

She made her way through the halls, searching for that familiar head of blonde hair, only to be pleasantly surprised when she heard a voice calling her name behind her. “Y-Yaomomo!” She turned at Denki’s cry. He was alone, and carrying a flat, red box.

“Denki. Hello.” He ran up to her, and she gestured to his box. “What’s this?”

“Oh, um-” Denki averted his gaze. “It’s… for you. Chocolates.” He extended the present to her. “I made them yesterday night, in the kitchen… there’s a few types, like orange zest and white chocolate and hazelnuts and cream-filled. I… I hope you’ll like it.”

“Oh?” She took the box, and he backed up a step, hands clasped over his chest. “May I see?”

He nodded, and she cracked the lid to see a neat array of glossy bonbons within, sitting on a contoured, plastic base. As he described, there was an array of milk, dark, and white chocolates in the selection, and some of them had little icing shapes on top. There was a piece of notebook paper folded and tucked against one wall of the box; from what she could see, the writing on it was a guide to what each flavor was. “Oh, wow… This is incredible, Denki. Thank you so much.” She placed the lid back on the chocolates, looking up to meet his slight smile with a grin. “I’ll be sure to enjoy them later. But why would you give me such a thing? It must have taken you so long…”

“Well, y-you were the one who taught me how to make them, after all,” Denki said sheepishly. “And… I wanted to give you something nice. To thank you for being there for me, and everyone else. Especially now, what with the detective work…”

“Please, you flatter me.” Yaomomo chuckled. “You’re kind, Denki. Too kind, almost.”

“Wh-What do you mean? You deserve the praise, Yaomomo!” he protested. “You’re so brave, investigating such horrible things… and you always listen to your friends and let them confide in you. Don’t you ever feel like you need a break? Even back then, as heroes, you were always working hard… shining like the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Don’t try to argue… I’m not going to change my mind, or anything.” Denki was smiling- no, grinning- at her. _ He seems so happy, singing me praise… I’ll humor him, if it means he’ll keep smiling. _ “If you need someone to lean on… I’d be happy to help, if I could. I don’t think I can, though… I can barely keep up in the trials as it is.” He chuckled. “Faced with important issues like that, I just blank.”

“But you support us from the sidelines,” Yaomomo insisted. “If we- well, I- didn’t have you there, I wouldn’t be able to work so hard. Give yourself a bit of credit, Denki.”

“Hm.” He paused and looked away once more. “You’re always so humble. Maybe that’s to be expected from a hero.”

“Please.” She tried to divert the topic away instead. “I was thinking about what we said about Ichika and Cynthia the other day, actually.”

“Hm? Where’s this coming from?” Denki tilted his head and pursed his lips, reminding her once more of a curious puppy.

“Well, Ichika’s like you, isn’t she? She’s sickly, yet still enjoys life even under storm clouds, looking out for even the tiniest of earthworms.” Yaomomo smiled. “Am I right?”

“Well… yeah. She’s caring and intuitive.”

“She’ll be alright, then! Level-headed, sweet, and optimistic… she’ll get through it, and we’ll dance in the rain together, okay?” She extended her free hand to him then, using the other to hold the box of chocolates. “Will you promise?”

Denki seemed taken aback at the offer, staring wide-eyed at her palm. Finally, the corners of his mouth tugged upwards, and he gently placed his hand on hers, shifting her wrist so their fingers could interlock. “Yeah.” He grinned at her, like the sun, like a star on the darkest night. “I promise.”

_ Even if the world comes crashing down, even if everyone else dies… _

_ Maybe I would be okay, as long as he is safe. _

_ Denki… _

_I look forward to the day when we can all play with the critters in the mud together._

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 5/5 | Your friendship has deepened!< _

_ >Denki’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

_ >You’ve learned a new skill, _ ** _Prediction of Rain_**_.< _

_ >Obtained present : Box of Sweets<_

~~~

A stormy day a millennium later, she would stare out the hospital window and wonder if the ghosts were dancing.


	58. Bonus 3 : Free Time Events - Kouji Kouda

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

Yaomomo uttered a sigh and set the book down on her lap. _ No dice. _ She’d been studying from a haphazard stack of books on self defense and kidnapping for hours now, already over halfway through the class’s second day in the school, and the excessive reading was starting to make her head and eyes hurt. _ Strange. I’ve never had this problem before. Maybe the stress from getting abducted is getting to me… I should take a break. _

She set her textbook on the desk and turned to Kyouka, who was sitting next to her and had since lifted her head to see what she was doing. “I’m taking a quick break. Getting a drink. Do you want to come with me?”

Kyouka shook her head. “No, you can go ahead. I’ll keep studying for a bit.” She paused as Yaomomo began to get up. “Stay safe,” she added.

“I will.”

The ravenette headed upstairs and entered the kitchen to get sparkling water and juice from the fridge, only to run into a certain rock-like boy. “Hello, Kouji.”

“Ah… hello, Yaoyorozu..!” He seemed anxious, startled enough by her entrance that he spoke; a rare phenomenon. Yaomomo could often barely remember what his voice sounded like._ ‘How are you doing?’ _he signed.

“I’m fine. I just needed a break. Reading so much heavy material in one go is taking a toll on my eyes,” she said, chuckling. “Are you taking a break, too?” 

_ ‘Yes. We’ve been shoving at the bolts and door for hours now. Rikidou and Mezou are resting, too,’ _ he explained. She nodded in understanding and sidled past him, before opening the fridge. She opted to take out a bottle of sparkling orange juice. _ Looks like they have a few fancier drinks. How nice. _She poured herself a glass before looking up at Kouji. He was washing his plate. “Kouji, would you like some?” He looked up to her, and she lifted the bottle.

“Oh, um, sure. Thank you,” he replied vocally, his hands occupied. She poured a second glass and handed it to him as he dried his hands and approached her. “Thanks,” he murmured again, taking it gratefully.

The two sat down on the counter, a rather awkward silence settling between them. Yaomomo took a gulp of her beverage before biting her lip in thought. “Mmh… Kouji Kouda.”

“H-Huh?” He seemed startled as he turned to her, setting the glass next to him in expectation of a conversation.

“I don’t know much about you,” she murmured. “You seem quiet, but kind… I’d like to get to know you better, if you don’t mind.” If she wanted her class to stick together, she might as well act on her words and try to get to know some of her soft-spoken classmates.

_ ‘Sure!’ _ Kouji seemed delighted at the offer, before quickly wilting. _ ‘I don’t mind, but I’m not very good at talking or signing with people.’ _ His hands wavered and lowered slightly. _ ‘Maybe I’ll come off as rude if I don’t say too much…’ _

“There is no need to worry about that. Even if I don’t know you well, I know you always have good intentions,” Yaomomo reassured. “But since we can’t afford to stand around for too long… I guess we could both ask one question to each other that can’t be answered with yes or no. Like a mini get-to-know-you session,” she suggested.

_ ‘Okay.’ _ He nodded.

“I’ll ask first, then.” She paused. “I know you like animals, and your talent is the Ultimate Animal Tamer… so what do you do in terms of animal taming, outside of school?”

“Hmm…” Kouji hummed. _ ‘As you know, I have a rabbit. He was in my dorm room upstairs when I got there, so I assume he was kidnapped, too. I care for him.’ _His hands hovered for a moment before his face lit up. His signing was getting quicker; Yaomomo was glad she was fluent, since she’d been taught it from a young age at home, alongside many other dialects. 

_ ‘And back home, I would talk to the birds and the raccoon in my backyard!’ _ He seemed delighted to be divulging the memory to her, and she found herself captivated in his hands. _ ‘They’re all very nice... The birds like it when I feed them… they eat little fruits and seeds, since nuts are often too high in fat and unhealthy in large amounts. And the raccoon sometimes likes to talk with me… she usually doesn’t say much, just stuff about interesting bugs she ate-’ _ he shuddered, _ ‘-or other raccoons she saw or smelled.’ _

“Wow… I didn’t know animals could speak back to you. I thought you just controlled them,” Yaomomo murmured.

_ ‘Yeah. They listen to me, too. I guess they don’t usually have humans speaking to them… in a language they understand. It kind of interests them. Some animals are harder to get through to. Then, I have to talk nice to them… or offer them a reward.’ _ Kouji smiled at the thought. _ ‘They’re like little people.’ _ He paused, frowning once more. His hands fell back into his lap. “Umm… do I ask you a question... now?” he mumbled.

“Sure.”

“Any question?”

“Yeah. Ask away,” Yaomomo gently prompted.

“Okay… hmm…” Kouji picked up his drink and took a sip. “Mmh… something that says a lot about you… ah.” He turned back to her, setting down his glass. _ ‘How do you feel about this whole thing? Like… getting kidnapped, and all.’ _

“Hmm… I fear the villains massacring us more than the Killing Game or being locked in the school,” Yaomomo said. “I believe in our friends. Nobody here has the capacity to _ kill _another, so we shouldn’t have to worry too much. However, considering we are all quirkless, the villains pose a greater threat than anything else. That’s my thoughts on the situation, at least.”

_ ‘Mmh. You’re optimistic, then.’ _ Kouji smiled. _ ‘I can only hope everything will turn out alright.’ _

“True. You never know what might happen… but I try to be positive.” Yaomomo drained the rest of her cup and hopped down from the counter. “Well, I guess it’s time to go. I’ve got a few more books to read.” She rinsed out her glass and set it on the drying rack. “It was lovely talking to you. I feel like I understand you a little better now.”

“Y-You too!” Kouji was smiling as he waved her goodbye. As she strode down the hall, she couldn’t help but feel her lips quirk up, as well.

_ Sweet, kind, and patient… Those are the qualities I can tell he has. _

_ Maybe I can already call him my friend. I’ll be sure to talk to him again, soon. _   
  


_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 1/5< _

_ >Kouji’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

~~~

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

“...mono-mono machine, huh?” Yaomomo inspected the three capsules in her hands. _ A water flute, a worm, and a camera. So random… _“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to keep these things.”

She pocketed the trinkets and continued wandering around the school. She was stuck with too much free time on her hands; cooping up in her room and doodling had gotten old pretty quickly. _ Maybe I can run into someone. I’m sure everyone else is also bored. _

Much to her delight, she found Kouji in the laundry room. “Hello, Kouji,” she greeted as she approached.

“Ah- hi!” The Animal Tamer looked up from where he was unloading his clothes into a basket. _ ‘Are you busy? You don’t seem to have any clothes to wash…’ _

“I was just looking for someone bored and in need of a conversation,” Yaomomo explained. “Although it looks like you are plenty busy already.”

_ ‘Oh, I’d be happy to hang out!’ _ Kouji reassured. He closed the lid of the dryer and picked up his basket. “I just have to drop this off at my room... You can walk with me, i-if you want…” He paused. “Um, do you want to see… my rabbit, Yuwai-chan..?”

“I’d love to.” Yaomomo followed Kouji as he made his way upstairs to his dorm. Upon entering, she found herself in a homey little place; the walls were beige and the floor wood-patterned vinyl. There was a hutch in the corner, with a litterbox inside, as well as a hay box and pellet and water bowls outside of it. An air freshener was attached to the wall, and on the round rug next to the bed was a small, white rabbit. He had been sitting with his paws tucked under his chest, but he got up as the door closed, his short, little ears quickly standing straight up on his head. His eyes had black rings around them, making it seem as if they were bigger than they actually were.

“Hi, Yuwai-chan.” Kouji’s voice was warm and steady as he set the laundry basket down and approached the rabbit. Yaomomo tailed him, hesitantly standing over them as he knelt down and patted him behind his short, white ears. “You can sit down, Yaomomo,” he said, glancing up at her. She complied.

Yuwai-chan turned to her, intrigued by the new person. His round, black eyes were wide as he regarded her, and his tiny, pink nose was twitching. “He’s curious,” Kouji murmured. The rabbit hopped up to her and began sniffing her legs. She offered him her hands; he inspected her fingers before looking up at her. She took that as an invitation to be pet; gently, slowly, she flipped her hand over and began to run it down his upper back, followed by a scratch behind his ears. She moved to pet his head, and he sat there and closed his eyes, leaning against her knee.

“He’s so sweet,” she murmured. His fur was silky soft. “What breed is he?”

“He’s a Dwarf Hotot.” Kouji seemed more confident when speaking about his animals, opting to use his voice to spare her having to look between him and Yuwai-chan. “He likes people… you’re very good with him, though. Like, um, you let him sort of warm up to you first, before petting.” A pause. “Do you have any pets?”

“Mmh… There is a cat that lives at my house. She’s a silver tabby mix. Her name is Rozu- she has these stunning green eyes.” She thought back on the little feline often seen slinking around the mansion, her hand and eyes still on Yuwai-chan. “She does not belong to anyone in my family. She comes and goes as he pleases, and sometimes she hangs out with people at random. She would sometimes sit on my desk in our library and watch me study.”

“She sounds cute,” Kouji murmured. “Who takes care of her?”

“The maids.” Yaomomo sighed. “I would feed her at dinnertime, but it was mostly their work.” She looked up from the rabbit, turning to Kouji instead. “You’re very caring and hardworking, always taking care of your pet while still doing hero work.”

“Oh, uh, well, it’s nothing, really!” Kouji’s face dusted a rosy magenta, and he turned away. “But thank you. Caring for Yuwai-chan… is a bit like hero work, I guess. I have to make sure I comfort him and give him food and water and shelter… and make him happy. So… I guess it kind of goes hand in hand.”

“Mmh. That’s true.” She paused, the sign in the mono-mono machine room suddenly coming to mind. _ That’s right… one of the items I got… _She reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled out the larger of the two items still in their capsules- the water flute. She had taken the camera out of its container earlier. “I got this earlier from the mono-mono machine,” She said, presenting the item to Kouji. “A water flute. I would like you to have it.”

“Ah, f-for me..?” He hesitantly took the capsule and stared at it. “Wow. I’ve heard about these… but I never got a chance to try one before.” He looked back up to Yaomomo and smiled. “Thank you so much…”

“You’re welcome.”  
  


_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 2/5< _

_ >Kouji’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

  
~~~

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

“Hmm… what is this..?” Yaomomo stared down at the capsule she’d just received. Inside was a little ticket, with ‘No. 53’ written on it in sparkly gold lettering.

She was hunting for monocoins after lunch for mono-mono machine exchanges; she never knew when a certain gift might come in handy for someone, and it seemed smart to be prepared. She’d only received small items so far, but she couldn’t accept the fact that she was supposed to just give a piece of paper with the number 53 written on it as a gift, though. She decided to pop it open and see what else was in it.

The slip of paper was all that was there, but on the back it read,_ ‘Please turn this in to the clerk to receive your gift.’ _ She turned and looked around the room; _ a clerk? _

“Hello there!” A portal suddenly opened behind the desk, and a girl with long, dark blue hair wearing a white blouse, black skirt, and round glasses stepped out into the room. “My name is Tsumugi. I see you have a ticket to exchange here, right?”

“Ah, um… sure.” She handed it to her, and Tsumugi began rummaging through the pile of items on the desk next to the gashapon. “Why is this specific thing a ticket?” Yaomomo inquired.

“Oh, the item is simply too big to fit in a capsule,” she explained. “Ah, here it is.” She pulled a little case covered in silver felt out of the pile and handed it to the ravenette. “Enjoy your Ultimate Human Experiment life~!”

She smiled, waved, and was swallowed up by a portal appearing under her feet, leaving Yaomomo to hold the case and ponder over the villain’s words. “Ultimate… Human Experiment..?”

Since all of her friends were alive and well and nowhere near any kind of sad demise, she decided to brush off her words as nonsense, instead opting to set the case down on an empty space on the desk to open it. Inside were a variety of sewing supplies; needles, thread of various colors, spare spools, scissors, a pincushion, the likes. “Mmh… a sewing kit.”

She shut the lid and clicked it shut before tucking the present into her tote bag, on top of all of the capsules. _ Let’s go find someone again. _

She made it to the cafeteria when she found Kouji approaching her. _ ‘Hi, Yaomomo.’ _

“Hello there. What do you need?”

Kouji’s hands wavered and fell to his midriff. He twiddled his fingers together and averted his gaze bashfully. “Well, um, I was wondering… if you wanted to hang out again. I know we just did this morning, but… I enjoyed our time together.” He returned his gaze to her. “Um, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! But… if you’d like to…”

“I would love to,” Yaomomo replied, smiling. She’d had fun talking with Kouji and playing with Yuwai-chan that morning, so she didn’t mind hanging out with him again. She was just starting to get to know him; he was so quiet, yet very sweet and lovely company once you broke the ice with him. “What would you like to do?”

“Hmm, well…” Kouji hesitated. “Do you have any hobbies..?”

“I like to read,” Yaomomo replied. “But that doesn’t sound very interesting to do together. I can also cook, play the piano and violin, draw, and sew,” she reeled off.

“You can sew?” he repeated, his face lighting up. She nodded. “Umm, could you teach me? I’ve always wanted to sew stuffed animals…”

“Sure. Let us go to my room. I received a sewing kit from the mono-mono machine, actually, so we can use that.” She led the way upstairs and to her dorm, showing Kouji inside. Compared to his homey bedroom, her canopy bed, ornate wallpaper, and shiny oak floorboards seemed a little stiff.

“Wow… it’s all so fancy…” The Animal Tamer was gazing around the room with wide eyes. Yaomomo shuffled an extra chair next to her rolling one by the desk, clearing her doodle notebook and jar of pens and pencils out of the way.

“You can sit in the rolling chair,” she offered, settling on the wooden stool herself. Kouji accepted the offer and sat down next to her. She pulled the sewing kit out of her bag and set it on the desktop before opening the lid.

The two spent quite a while sewing together pieces of fabric to create miniature pillowcases, with Yaomomo teaching Kouji the basics and helping him practice the stitches. They finished about an hour or two later- she’d lost track of time while they worked.

“Alright… I think we’re done.” She set her own needle down, alongside her tiny pillowcase, sewn from a fabric patterned with flowers. Kouji set his own work down; he’d used pastel blue textiles with little clouds and raindrops on it. “You are improving rapidly, for someone who has never sewn before.” His large hands, although appearing to be clumsy at a glance, were steady and of utmost precision. It was sort of incredible to watch.

“Th-Thank you…” Kouji murmured. “It’s fun… and you’re a great teacher.”

“You flatter me. You’re a good student. Attentive, and quick to pick up on the details of the craft.” Yaomomo smiled and leaned back. “I wonder… is there any animal you wouldn’t handle?”

“Huh? Where is this coming from..?”

“I apologize if it sounds out of the blue,” she hastily added. “But, listening to you talk about how you’d talk to the animals in your backyard, as well as seeing how you care for Yuwai-chan, it makes me wonder, is all.”

“Oh. Hmm… an animal I wouldn’t handle…” Kouji pondered over it for a moment. “I suppose… bugs. They scare me… and even if I can now handle speaking to them, I wouldn’t like it if one of them touched me...” He shuddered at the thought, similar to when he mentioned the raccoon at his home eating grubs.

“I can see why,” Yaomomo murmured. She’d never been a huge fan of insects and spiders either, although she could make an exception to some of the prettier critters. “You do not have to answer, and I apologize for being intrusive… but is it all bugs, or are slightly less… _ crawly _ones acceptable? Like butterflies or dragonflies.”

“It’s okay… You’re easy to talk to... and I don’t really mind talking about it. There’s no bugs in this school,” he pointed out. “And… um, I guess it’s all of them, including butterflies.”

“If I may ask… why? I hear they are creepy when you get up close to them.”

“Well… it’s not so much that they look creepy, but what happened back when I was a little kid with them. With all bugs in general.” Kouji wrung his hands together. “When I was in preschool and kindergarten, I would talk to the bugs in the yard… during recess. Umm... I didn’t have any friends… I didn’t have any until I made it to U.A..

“Anyway… I was always bullied… for being the friendless loner who talked to the bugs. The other kids would come over and laugh at me… and call me names… and sometimes throw rocks at me, or crush the bugs.” Kouji’s voice lowered. “So… Umm... I...” Words seemed to escape him, so he raised his hands and continued in sign language instead.

_ ‘Over time, talking to the bugs only made me think of the bullies who would come over and harass me, so I began to hate the bugs. They would remind me only of the hurtful words and things the kids would do to me… which led me to being scared of the bugs themselves, because of the bullying they would bring.’ _His hands fell to his lap once more. “Sorry… that got a little sad, huh..?”

“Kouji… I never thought… I’m sorry about that.” Yaomomo wasn’t sure what to say. _ How could anyone bully such a sweet, gentle guy..? _Then again, she heard that Katsuki had relentlessly bullied Izuku all the way until they enrolled in U.A., so maybe those types of cruel people just inevitably existed.

“It’s okay. Most of them apologized… and those who didn’t turned out distant and regretful… I could tell from the way they’d act around me. So... it’s alright. And now I don’t go to school with any of them,” Kouji reassured. “Umm... enough about me. There’s no point in feeling sorry, or mentioning it again.” A pause. “Do you want to keep sewing, or do you want to go get dinner now?”

“...I can keep going, if you’d like to.”

“Of course.”

_ Kouji… you said you didn’t have any friends back then, right? It’s surprising that nobody would want to talk to such a sweet guy. _

_ I wonder… Do you see me as your friend, today? _

_ Perhaps… I truly hope to see a day where you do. _

_ Maybe you’d be less lonely, then. _   
  


_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 3/5< _

_ >Kouji’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

~~~

>Chapter 2 : Daily Life<

A few days had passed since Ochako’s execution, and the vivid images of blood and the echoes of a sad girl’s screams were still drowning Yaomomo’s mind.

“I have to go do something,” she muttered to herself, closing her notebook. There was nothing to be done but forgive and forget; she could only hope Ochako’s betrayal was a singular event, not the first of many. “A distraction…”

_ Maybe I should check up on how Kouji’s doing. The trial’s shaken all of us up… I wonder how he feels. _She turned to her mono-mono machine bag, found the capsule she had received seemingly a millennium ago, and headed for the door.

She headed for his dormitory first. “Kouji, it’s me, Yaomomo,” she called as she knocked. There was a brief pause, before she heard shuffling inside and the door cracked open. He peered out, saw that she was alone, and opened the door.

_ ‘Hello. Come in,’ _Kouji signed. She followed him into the cozy little room, where Yuwai-chan was currently sitting on the bed. He hopped up next to him and gestured for Yaomomo to sit, as well. She hesitantly settled on the edge of the mattress.

“S-Sorry… for being suspicious,” he murmured, now that they were in the private safety of his adobe. He ran a hand over his white rabbit’s back. “The trial was just a little scary.”

“It’s alright. I understand.” Yaomomo pulled the large capsule out of her pocket. “I wanted to ask how you were doing… and I brought this for Yuwai-chan.”

The gift she was holding out to Kouji was a rabbit chew toy: a woven ball of sticks. “Ooh… this is so cute... Useful, too.” He took it from her hand. “Thank you. I’ll give it to Yuwai-chan now.” He gently lifted the rabbit off of the bed, opened the capsule, and offered him the ball. Yuwai-chan sniffed and inspected it before beginning to gnaw on the wood.

“It looks like he likes it,” Yaomomo murmured, watching him play.

“He does. He likes chew toys…” Kouji faltered. “You said you wanted to see how I was doing, before, right? That’s nice of you…”

“Yeah.” Yaomomo tilted her head; he seemed anxious. More awkward than usual, as if his mind weren’t focused on the conversation. “If I may ask, what’s bothering you?”

“Hmm…” His voice was soft. “I just miss normal life. Going to school, being a hero… I want to go back to doing that.”

“So do I.” She sighed and flopped back onto the bed, staring at the beige ceiling; Kouji laid down too, next to her. “Even though it’s only been a week… it feels like ages. So much happened…”

“Everything’s just too sudden,” he mumbled. “Maybe… talking about something else will make it all hurt less.”

“That’s true,” Yaomomo said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Mmh… school. I quite enjoyed… U.A…. before all this happened.” Kouji paused. “Why did you decide to be a hero?”

“Well…” Yaomomo thought about the question for a heartbeat. “I wanted to be a hero so I could help those that don’t live with as much privilege as me. I was born into a wealthy family, with all these maids living to service me, so going out into society and learning about the homeless and the poor was a bit of a shock for me as a little kid. I decided I wanted to help them, then, because nobody should be sad when there was so much excess of happiness for the wealthy, like me, right? I wanted to share my joy with others.” She chuckled. “That probably doesn’t make sense at all, but it is how I felt when I was younger, as well as now.”

“That’s… kind,” Kouji commented. “I always thought the rich cared only about their own lives and money… but you’re different. I mean, um, I didn’t mean to be rude, but-” He hastily tried to amend, before audibly deflating. “Ah… Sorry…”

“No, it’s completely fine. Most of the wealthy _ are _like that. My father included, actually. I try my best to not be like him, to be like my mother instead.” She turned her head so she could sort of face him. “What about you? Why did you choose to become a hero?”

“Mmh… I guess… it was to make people happy,” Kouji decided. “I wanted to save those who were scared or sad… and make them smile with my animal friends. Animals don’t judge you like people do… they don’t care if you’re weird for a human, because to them, there’s no right or wrong type of behavior for others to live by. So even if I can’t talk to people myself… I can let my friends help me out, and help out others in need, too.” He was smiling, thinking about his idyllic dream; _ how thoughtful he is. _

“That’s very brave of you,” Yaomomo murmured, her own lips quirking up as well. “Even though talking to strangers intimidates you, you still wish to do your best and help them however you can. It’s admirable, how hard you worked as a student to achieve your goals.”

“Oh… thank you.” His face flushed pink again. “You’re so much braver than me, though… You’re outgoing, and you’re always so patient, even with me…”

“How could anyone not be?” she replied. “Being patient has paid off, right? I got to know you, Kouji, and I couldn’t be happier having done so.”

“S-Same here..!” He seemed flustered by all the praise. “Umm… When the pros come and save us… or when we fight our way out… would you want to team up with me as heroes? I think… we’d make a good team.”

“Mmh… we would. I can talk to people, and you can make them smile with your animal friends.” She grinned at the thought. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

_ Teaming up with Kouji… It sounds fun. _

_ I hope the pros will come soon, so we can get to work before the world forgets how to smile. _

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 4/5< _

_ >Kouji’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

~~~

>Chapter 2 : Daily Life<

“Mmh… what to do..?” Yaomomo wandered out of the mono-mono machine room. She’d played it so much that she’d begun receiving duplicate items, and she was out of coins again. “I’ll find someone to hang out… maybe we could have tea.”

She wandered the halls for a while until she ran into Kouji exiting his dormitory. Well, it would probably be more accurate to say he ran into her.

“Yaomomo!” She was about to head downstairs when she heard his voice call out for her from behind. She turned to see the Animal Tamer walking over to her, carrying a tote bag slung over his shoulder. “Um, hello.” He halted in front of her, but his gaze was averted. He fiddled with his bag strap. “I was looking for you, actually… I have something for you.”

“Hm?” Yaomomo watched as he reached into the tote bag and, much to her surprise, pulled out a stuffed rabbit doll. It was sitting upright, with dangling legs and arms and floppy ears. A pink circle indicated its tummy, and the eyes were a pair of red X’s. The stitchwork was far from professional, but a warm feeling of care was held in the beige threads.

“I made this for you,” Kouji mumbled. “Um, I know it’s not the best… but I want you to have it.” He held the doll out to her, and she took it with wide eyes of adoration.

“This is adorable,” she murmured, her voice hushed. She couldn’t help but break out in a grin; the obvious affection that went in the plushie was something she hadn’t felt since she’d moved to the U.A. dorms when school was still in session, away from home and Cynthia. “I love it so much. Thank you.” She peered over the rabbit doll to observe Kouji’s face. “But why give this to me?”

“Well, umm… I wanted to thank you. For being my friend…” His face flushed, she could tell he was trying his best to keep his eyes at least on her face. “Umm, even when I was shy and awkward and boring to talk to, you kept trying to befriend me… you listened to my problems, and you even taught me how to sew… And I wanted to repay some of that kindness.”

“It was my pleasure,” she murmured, smiling. “You’re a very sweet person, and I could tell you wanted to talk with me and be my friend. If anything, I’m glad I could make you happy.”

“You did… You’re one of the first people who would bear with me enough to do so.” His own lips quirked up as he spoke. “Um, in case anything bad happens… I also just wanted to say that, to me… you were my best friend. You and Kyouka both… I loved- no, love you- um, as friends, I mean!” His face flushed, and he finally looked away, staring at the floor bashfully. “Still. Thanks, again… for giving me a chance and making me feel less alone.”

“Oh…” Yaomomo couldn’t do much but stare at him, clutching his stuffed rabbit to her chest. “That’s… Thank you.” A light chuckle escaped her lips. “You deserve friends, Kouji. I’m thankful for you, too… but please, nothing bad will happen. Let’s try not to jinx it, okay?” she teased, a smile still beaming on her face. She was so confident in her words, then.

“Oh… Right! Of course. Sorry…” This time, Kouji returned her smile, his gaze comfortably meeting hers, dark brown irises melding with silver. That smile slipped into a laugh; a beautiful sound, like music to Yaomomo’s ears, like bells and birdsong and celebratory cheers all rolled up into one heartbeat of delight. “Let’s escape together… okay?”

“Alright. Promise.”

_ Kouji… _

_ I look forward to being a hero with you at my side, once we depart this place. _

_ And I’m glad I got to know you... my sweet, dearest friend. _

_ >Obtained Friendship Fragment : 5/5 | Your friendship has deepened!< _

_ >Kouji’s Report Card has been updated based on your experience with him.< _

_ >You’ve learned a new skill, _ ** _Rabbit Sense_**_.< _

_ >Obtained present : Rabbit Plushie< _

~~~

The next morning, she’d be staring down his dead body, devoid of life and care and smiles while she cried for the future he’d lost.

_ Kouji… _

_ Why did you break our promise..? _


	59. Bonus 3 : Free Time Events - Fumikage Tokoyami

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

On their first free day since they’d been trapped in U.A., Yaomomo found herself unexpectedly bored.

“What shall I do today..?” she mumbled to herself, rising from her desk to head for the door. _Maybe I could run into someone, and we could chat, or something. _Everyone was taking a break from investigation that day, so it probably wasn’t too difficult to find another person with downtime.

She had no sooner walked down the stairs when she found herself approached by a certain bird-headed boy. “Hello, Fumikage,” she greeted, a pleasant smile on her face.

“Yaomomo.” The Nightwalker didn’t say any more; he merely held out a little gashapon capsule to her. “I was looking for you. I wanted to give you this.”

“Eh?” She cautiously took it from his gloved palm; it was a necklace, one with a blue opal pendant inlaid in silver. “Thank you… This is gorgeous.” She tore her eyes away from the object in question to meet Fumikage’s unemotional gaze. “But where did you find this?”

“A little room opened up on the fourth floor. There's a large gashapon called the mono-mono machine there. You operate it with the bronze coins scattered around the school, and the sign next to it says you should give the items you receive to your peers,” he explained. “But I’m glad you like the necklace.”

“I do. It’s beautiful.” Yaomomo tucked the capsule into her skirt pocket. “Are you busy right now? I was wondering if we could exchange small talk, while we are both here.”

“Sure. I don’t have anything else to do.” Fumikage turned and gestured for her to follow. “Come. Let’s go to the cafeteria and sit down.”

The pair wandered down another flight of stairs and settled for sitting on the half-wall in the dining hall. “So… how do you feel about all this?” Yaomomo prompted. “What with being locked in, and Monokuma, and that motive video…”

“I’m not too concerned, to be honest,” he huffed, dipping his beak. “Being locked in isn’t a problem, and I cannot see any of our classmates having the guts nor conviction to kill, especially someone they knew the name and personality of. Most people wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt of that,” he decided. “Although, considering the fact we are unaware of most people’s home lives and how close they are to their families, it _is_ a possibility that I would prefer not to dwell upon. Pointing fingers and creating drama where there is none could only lead to disaster.”

“Mmh… that’s a good point.” Yaomomo stared at his face; he was side-eyeing her, and his face betrayed no feeling except neutrality. “But what about the motive videos? Aren’t you at all shaken by that? You seemed so calm back there…”

“...I was never close to my family,” he murmured, casting his gaze to the floor. “I lived with my single mother, and I was the only child. She was always busy, working for herself and for me to have a future, but she never really had any time to actually spend _with _me. I do care for her deeply, but we don’t have much in common other than that perfect perception of one another. Do you understand that?” He turned his head to face her; _his expression is cold, and yet his eyes seem to bore right through me_.

“Mmh… I believe so.” Yaomomo herself was never excessively close to her parents, but she had bonded with Cynthia instead. _To grow up with _no _close family at all… _“I’m sorry. It sounds terribly lonely.”

“It isn’t, really. I had good friends in school and the likes,” he reassured. “But apparently, the villains chose not to kidnap them, which strikes me as odd.” He crossed his arms. “I was talking to Tsu earlier, and she confided in me and said they had kidnapped her best friend from junior high, alongside her family. The villains have the capability to find our non-family relations, so why my junior high companions got away is beyond me.”

“The villains have strange ways of thinking,” Yaomomo suggested. “Maybe they have something planned- this seems like a large-scale operation, to me. To go as far as to seize an entire school, especially one like U.A., seems a bit excessive. But hopefully, that isn’t the case, and they simply glossed over you,” she hastily added.

“I hope the latter is true,” he murmured. “But how are _you_ faring? Judging by your lack of self-relation when I mentioned having a loose family bond, I’d assume you have a close-knit family. Are the motive videos troubling you?” He seemed concerned, his eyes clearly warm despite the fact he couldn’t emote well with a bird face.

“Well… partially, yes.” Yaomomo shuddered at the thought of seeing her family, her parents and sister and Cynthia, all chained up in some rancid cell in god-knows-where. “You are right in thinking I have a tighter family. I’m not excessively close to my parents or my sister, although we have good relations, but I was best friends with one of the maids at my home, Cynthia.” She chewed on the inside of her lip anxiously. “But I cannot see the villains intentionally harming them quite yet. Although the poor conditions may cause them to get sick, and I don’t believe the villains would bother giving them treatment. It’s been an unstable situation thus far, so I do not know what to believe. If anything, I just know I cannot kill a classmate to free them.”

There was a brief pause after her rather lengthy explanation. Yaomomo blinked at him. “Sorry. That was probably a bit wordy, huh?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just surprised by the amount of foresight you’ve put into this,” he said, a small smile tugging at his beak. “You’re probably right. The prisoners wouldn’t be harmed, and the heroes will come soon to save us. The only danger for us would be ourselves, so as long as nobody does something they regret.”

“Of course.” Yaomomo couldn’t help but smile, too; talking to someone who operated on logic was reassuring, considering all facts were likely in their favor. “We’ll be saved soon, and then this whole fiasco will be over.”

“Surely.”

_It’s nice, finding someone who can keep a level head even in this situation._

_He’s got to be right... There’s no way something bad could happen. I just have to believe in him, and in all of our friends._

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 1/5<_

_>Fumikage’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 2 : Daily Life<

_I had believed in my classmates…_

_So why did this have to happen?_

The visions of Rikidou lying in his own blood and Ochako hanging limp on a stake were burned into her brain. Yaomomo groaned, hauling herself off of her bed. “There’s no good to be gotten out of moping around,” she muttered to herself. “I should go out and talk to somebody…”

Brushing her teeth and staring at her bedraggled face in the mirror, she couldn’t help but think back to the investigation and trial. _Fumikage… _The Nightwalker had dug through Rikidou’s body with ease and assisted Hanta in solving the case. _And it seemed like he was suspecting Ochako all along, jumping her with that question to get her to slip up… I should talk to him about this. It’s strange, to put it simply._

Upon putting her necklace on -the one Fumikage had given her, before the world flipped upside down and inside out- and cleaning up her appearance, she made her way outside and downstairs. She had a gashapon capsule in her pocket; she’d tried out the mono-mono machine a few days ago, and she had a trinket to give him in return for his own gift. _Might make him open up a bit more, too._

She found him in the library, standing among the shelves as he searched for a book. “Ah. Hello, Yaomomo,” he said. “How are you?”

“Pretty much alright.” She took her capsule out and extended her palm to him. “But I digress. Here. A present for you.”

Surprised, Fumikage blinked and took the item. It was a small apple carved out of quartz. “Ah. This is lovely.” A small smile tugged at the edges of his beak. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Yaomomo observed his expression; he was as calm as before, his eyes betraying none of the horrors he had just seen and personally… _toyed _with. She couldn’t really think of a better word to describe the way he’d investigated Rikidou’s corpse. “Hey, Fumikage.”

“Yes?” He was tucking the capsule into one of the many pockets in his trench coat.

“How come you were so… calm, in investigating Rikidou’s body?” she asked, despite her hesitation. “The way you handled the wound, what with all the blood… And you took a bit of charge in the trial, too. Why are you so familiar with death?”

He seemed unfazed at her question, merely frowning and tilting his head. “...it’s a long story.”

“I’d be willing to hear it.” Any explanation for how unemotional he was about everything was better than none.

“Alright. Fine.” Fumikage crossed his arms over his chest. “I was in my second year of junior high at the time. It was a relatively mild, summer night. As I mentioned before, I was never that close to my mother, and I would occasionally sneak out at night. Whether to wander about alone or to hang out with friends, I enjoyed the dark. I would always carry around a strong flashlight, in case Dark Shadow got out as well.” His voice lowered.

“One night, I was out alone when I stumbled across a most peculiar scene- there was a dead body in an alley,” he continued. “At the time, I was frightened and fled the scene, but later on, I became interested in crime shows and the likes. I eventually took a forensics class at my local high school, and we worked with cadavers there. Dead bodies, the corpses of people who had deemed it in their will that their shells be sacrificed to science.” He sighed. “One gets used to the blood and organs and the likes after dissecting enough of them.”

“Ah… I see.” Yaomomo smiled; _of course. He’s interacted with the bodies before- that’s the only reasonable explanation for how he’d know the ins and outs of the internal organs. _Books could only ever teach so much. “Strange how you’re the Ultimate Nightwalker and not the Ultimate Prosector, hm?”

“True. Maybe I should request a name change,” he joked. The slight, upwards curve of his mouth quickly dropped back into a frown. “Speaking about the past… I miss Dark Shadow.” There was a wistful type of sadness in his gaze- the first sign of emotion she’d seen from him thus far, apart from his cold shoulder towards Ochako.

“Right… He was more than just your quirk, unlike the rest of us.” A pang shot through her chest; no matter how stilted she felt, incapable of creating dolls and tools out of her arm, she couldn’t imagine how badly it hurt to have lost your best friend, a companion who was an integral part of you. “After we escape, if Eri regains control of her own quirk, she could recover Dark Shadow, I’m sure,” she reassured.

“We shouldn’t rely so much on one little girl,” Fumikage retorted softly. “I can’t imagine what kind of abuse the villains put her through.” A pause. He averted his crimson gaze. “But… sometimes, I must admit I consider that, too. If she were willing, it would certainly work.”

“Of course. It would be selfish to force her to do anything,” Yaomomo agreed. “But… if she did rewind our quirks… we could all go back to being heroes.” She had to admit, she missed school; she missed being in control of her life, of herself. “Soon, perhaps.”

“That would be nice, huh?” He muttered, his words almost a whisper. “To return to a sense of normality.”

“Yeah.”

_I wonder, to you… You, who have dug through dead bodies and have no sense of real family, who walks the streets alone at night…_

_What is normality, in your life?_

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 2/5<_

_>Fumikage’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 3 : Daily Life<

Once again, after yet another draining trial, Yaomomo found Fumikage entering the newly rebuilt library.

“Yaomomo.” He dipped his head to her in greeting. “Looking to read as a distraction?”

“No.” She shook her head; the vision of the burnt shelves and ashen books, of Kouji’s burnt corpse lying on the floor, was still hot in the forefront of her mind. “But… how can you stand going in that place after Kouji- well, after everything that happened?”

Fumikage sighed. “There’s no use hanging around the past like that. Kouji may have died in this room, but that doesn’t mean we should just stop using it altogether.” With no further words, he turned on his heel and entered the library. Curious about what he was up to, Yaomomo opted to follow.

“Are you looking for someone to hang out with?” Fumikage asked without looking back. He was making a beeline for the mystery aisle; Yaomomo stared at his back as he rounded the corner.

“Well… yes.”

“Let us study these mystery novels together, then.” He tugged a book from the shelf before handing it to her. “I’m sure we can find something worth noting in here, for future reference.”

“I’d prefer if there was no need for this information in the future,” she muttered. The argument she’d witnessed between Katsuki’s friends in the cafeteria a few days ago returned to mind, though; an echo of Mina and Eijirou’s furious voices rang in her ears. “But… I suppose you have a point.” She took the novel.

The two sat down at one of the couches and began to read, exchanging comments as they reached certain points in their own stories. Fumikage was as attentive out of the courtroom as in; he’d point out all the tiniest details, and he’d managed to figure out who the killer was halfway through the book.

“You’re quite the student,” she said as he shut his book. There was a notepad sitting between them, one with watercolor butterflies on the corners of the pages. She’d given it to him earlier, and he’d suggested they use it to take notes as they read. “You’re always so sharp, whether when reading or investigating a murder.”

“It’s nothing, really.” Fumikage shook his head. “I merely have an attention for detail. On the other hand, you, despite never having done any prior forensic work like me, also have a talent for mystery-solving.” He turned and fixed his stare on her. “Did you learn about this at home?”

“Ah, well…” His crimson eyes were, once again, boring into her. She averted her own gaze. “I would study in our family library. Ever since I was young, I liked to read and learn new things, and my family encouraged me to do so. We had all the books you could imagine… more than in this library, even.” She gestured towards the many shelves behind them. “It was so lovely… I trained my quirk there, too, reading textbooks and learning new things to create.” She sighed wistfully. “Oh well.”

“Your family is quite wealthy, huh?” Fumikage commented.

“Yes. Oh, erm, sorry…” She trailed off, recalling what he’d said about his home life the first time they’d hung out. “I wasn’t trying to show off, or anything…”

“I know. You’re a humble person, Yaomomo.” He was silent for a moment; the Affluent Progeny continued to stare at her hands. “What is it like, being rich and having all that you could dream of already in your palm?” he suddenly asked.

“Eh? Hmm…” She thought about it for a moment, tried to compare her life to a ‘normal’ person’s; she had only ever known being wealthy, but she often tried to put herself into the shoes of the people she walked past when she went out, back when she could still do that. “It’s… nice, I suppose. I never have to worry about not having anything, I could have access to all the knowledge in the world, and if I ever wanted anything materialistic, I would always get it.” She paused.

“But… being wealthy doesn’t affect my being a hero,” she murmured. “The reason I wanted to be a hero was to help those who didn’t have as much as me. But to become a hero, I had to work hard on my own account, rather than relying on bribes and the likes. A mere title just doesn’t cut it- you aren’t a hero unless you act like one, I like to think.” She looked up, but Fumikage wasn’t staring at her anymore. Instead, he was gazing at the ground.

“A hero isn’t a hero unless they act like one...” he muttered. “Ha. If only more people in the world today followed that ideology.”

“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Yaomomo agreed. _Why does he sound so… remorseful? _She brushed it off. “I just hope we can hold onto some of that heroic mindset in this place.”

“...It’s a tall order, admittedly.” Fumikage rose to put his book back. “But… I suppose someone like you can afford to wish.”

“What about you?”

“...” He was silent in return, walking away from her instead.

_Fumikage…_

_Why is it that the more time I spend with you, the less I feel I know you?_

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 3/5<_

_>Fumikage’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 3 : Daily Life<

The next day, Yaomomo still couldn’t get Fumikage’s words out of her head.

“I have to go talk to him again,” she muttered to herself, grabbing a gashapon capsule off of her desk before leaving her dorm. _Maybe I could figure him out. _She supposed it was stupid, putting it that way; there was no neat and easy way to ‘figure someone out.’ At best, maybe she would feel less confused by him.

She found him in the kitchen slicing an apple. “Hi, Fumikage,” she murmured. He looked up and waved with his free hand. He’d removed his gloves; his hands were swift and capable, easily maneuvering the knife. He was slicing the fruit into bunny slices, she noticed.

“Hello, Yaomomo. Here to talk again?” he prompted, glancing at the capsule she was still clutching in her fingers.

“Well… yes. It’s not like I have anything else to do, right? Might as well enjoy a friend’s company while it’s peaceful.” She shrugged. “I’ll let you finish cutting the apple first, though.”

“It’s fine. I’m just about done.” He was right; in the short period of time they’d been talking, he’d finished styling the last slice. He brushed all of the peels and extra bits into his palm and dumped them in the trash can. “Come. Let’s share them in the cafeteria.”

“Oh- It’s okay, really,” she protested. “I know you just sliced them for yourself, and I just happened to walk in-”

“No, please. Just accept the offer.” Fumikage washed his hands, moved all of the slices onto the plate he’d prepared earlier, and began to leave. Yaomomo could now see his gloves peeking out of one of his many pockets. She had no choice but to follow him.

They sat down in the cafeteria and sorted the slices so that each of them had four. Fumikage began to nibble on one of his while Yaomomo placed the capsule she’d brought earlier on the table between them. “I brought something for you again,” she said. He placed his slice down and scrutinized the gift instead. It was a black choker with a ruby pendant inlaid on it.

“This is lovely… truly befitting of me.” He took the capsule and inspected it. “You have an eye for good gifts too, and a heart for giving them. Thank you.”

“No problem.” She smiled; at least her gauge on the mundane things he liked was spot-on.

The two ate their apples for a while until Fumikage decided to speak up again. “Something you said earlier is sticking in my head,” he suddenly spoke up, holding half of a piece of an apple in one hand. “What you said about how you ‘might as well enjoy a friend’s company while it’s peaceful’. Do you believe another murder will occur?”

“I...” Yaomomo shuddered, blinking as she met his stare-into-your-soul gaze. She considered his words; it was a truth she’d been trying to deny for a while, now. And yet, when he put it simply like that, it was impossible to run from it. “...yes. I suppose… Tensions are so high right now, what with the Bomber reveal… I feel like it’s kind of inevitable.”

“Mmh.” Fumikage took another bite of his apple. “Do you have any predictions?”

“Eh? Isn’t it kind of jinxing death if you theorize about our classmates like that?” she pointed out. His lack of a show of emotion before was already strange enough, but to theorize on who was going to kill? That was another type of insensitivity altogether, for her, at least.

Fumikage sighed. “Perhaps. Let me put it this way, then- what do you think of our classmates?”

“Well…” Yaomomo thought for a moment. Observing others was her specialty, it seemed; it was always infinitely easier to talk about her friends rather than herself. “I fully trust Kyouka, Denki, and Shouto. Kyouka’s kind, although I do worry about her sometimes, and Denki seems to have cut himself off from Katsuki, which is good.”

“You don’t like Katsuki very much, huh?” Fumikage murmured.

“No, of course not,” Yaomomo huffed. Just thinking about him made her skin crawl. “How could anyone still like someone who has ruined hundreds of people’s lives?”

“He regrets it, though. He’s a very emotional person,” the Nightwalker retorted. “I can see it in him. He worked hard as a hero, regardless of his violent tendencies, as an escape from that remorse, to distract himself from it.”

“Are you defending him?”

“No. Just a thought.” Fumikage averted his gaze. “Continue. You were saying that you didn’t trust Katsuki. Who else do you not trust?”

“If I had to pick someone, it’d be… Eijirou and Mezou. Eijirou because he’s biased towards Katsuki and might fight back if someone tries to attack him, and Mezou because of his anger towards us. He might do something he’d regret,” she explained. “Mina seems a bit too guided by her emotions right now, though,” she added. “I fear for what she might do.”

“I see.” Fumikage stared at the empty plate between them. “You think a lot about everyone else, do you? More than you think about yourself.”

“...sure. And?” _He’s… observant, that’s for sure. Learning about me even before I do… His words make perfect sense, and yet putting names to my unconscious beliefs is slightly disconcerting._

“Try to keep your own desires in mind, okay? Especially as this… Game progresses.” He returned his gaze to her, eyeing her up and down. “You’re the type to try and take responsibility for others, if anything ever happens. I worry about Hanta… Being in the center of Katsuki’s friends’ argument, on top of being the detective in the trials- it gives him a lot of enemies.”

“How come?” Yaomomo couldn’t imagine anyone targeting the Archnologist; he was always kind and fun as a hero, and he never tried to directly provoke anyone in the Game.

“If I wanted to get out of here and had to pick a target, wouldn’t it make the most sense to target the detective? If you take away the person everyone is riding on in the trials, then you get an upper hand,” Fumikage reasoned. “On top of that, he has Mina and Denki raging at him… If I had to bet on it, I think he might wind up dead.”

“H-Hey… Don’t jinx it like that…” The casual voice the bird-headed boy was taking on as he spoke of death sent a shudder down her spine.

“Of course. Sorry.” Fumikage sighed. “But, my point is… If we wind up without a leader, I feel you’d take up the role, no? Be honest with me. Would you do it?”

“Well, yes, if I could help my class that way.” She blinked. “Do people really look up to me like that, though?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course they do. You’re top of our class- if anything, our classmates admire you and Shouto.” Fumikage moved to rise, taking the plate with him. “Just remember what I said, okay? Don’t overdo it. You’ll only end up hurting yourself and those close to you.”

Yaomomo couldn’t find any words to say as he walked off, waving and murmuring a goodbye. _Don’t overdo it..? Does he think I would? There’s no way I’d be able to hurt anyone, right? I’m always conscious of what I’m doing._ She couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.

And yet, his words rang true for her. She _would _take up the role of leader if she had to; she owed a duty to her class, to her friends, and she would fulfil it no matter what it took. Watching Hanta fight so hard was wearing on her- she was never one to sit by while everyone else did the work.

_Maybe he’s right…_

_Fumikage…_

In the end, she felt she knew him a little better, too.

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 4/5<_

_>Fumikage’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

~~~

>Chapter 4 : Daily Life<

Much to Yaomomo’s horror, Fumikage’s prediction came true.

“Darn this…” she muttered, tearing the sketch of a bloody crow out of her notepad and crumpling it up. “Maybe he jinxed it…”

Hanta was killed, and she had taken the job. Well, Monokuma kind of forced her into it by handing her the File, she tried to reason, but she had stuck to it and led the trial. “Guess he was right about me.” She sighed and rose to her feet. _Maybe I should go talk to him, see what else he wants to teach me about myself. _She had to admit, Fumikage was fascinating to her; he was practically digging out her innards and inspecting them, while she could barely scratch the surface on his own character.

She headed down to the library and found him by the shelf of criminal case files. He was leafing through one; she didn’t see which one it was, though, because he put it back the moment he heard her approach. “Hello there.” He turned to face her instead.

“Hi.” She halted a meter in front of him. “What were you reading?”

“I was investigating these criminal files. I thought perhaps someone might try to imitate the style of certain serial killers and the likes,” he explained. “The one you saw me put back was Justice’s Blade. They’re fairly well-known. But enough about that.” He reached into the large pocket on his coat. “I was waiting for you to come over, actually. I have something to give you.”

“How did you know I would come find you?” she teased.

“Well, why wouldn’t you? You always do. And I was right about you taking on detective work.” He smiled slightly as he removed his hand from his pocket. He was holding a large, glass tube with something resting inside. “For you.”

Yaomomo took the item with wide eyes. It was a quill, a glossy, jet-black feather with a silver tip attached to the base. A small jar of black ink sat next to it. “This is beautiful… Thank you.” _He must’ve made it himself, _she thought. _The feather is probably his own… I don’t know how to feel about that, exactly, but the quill itself is gorgeous._

“I’m glad you like it.” He was still smiling that tiny smile, just the slightest upwards curve of his lips. “I wanted to give you something that reminded you of your ally. I’ll always fight at your side, Yaomomo.” His eyes darkened. “For the sake of justice, for our friends, as well as survival… I’ll always fight at your side.”

His words felt like lead in her stomach; she thought back to Ochako, when she’d been found out and executed; she thought of Yuga, running free in the outside world with his family safe. “Thank you,” she murmured, trying not to dwell on her own doubts. “I’m glad to have you as an ally, too.”

“Is something bothering you?” he suddenly said instead. “I can tell. You can trust me, you know? I know you don’t exactly have any reason to, considering how I read you like a book, but… I’d be willing to help in whatever way I can.”

“Well… Do you think it’s heroic, what you and I are going to be doing?” Yaomomo bit her lip. “Solving the cases, I mean.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because… isn’t it cruel to condemn our own friends?” she explained. “Look at Ochako, who just wanted to save her family. Do you think it’s heroic, sentencing people like her to death?”

There was a heavy pause. Fumikage shut his eyes in thought. “I think it’s heroic,” he finally said. “You said it’s the actions of someone that make them a hero, right? The actions of a criminal define them too, then. That’s what I believe. To deal justice to those who deserve it- don’t you think that’s fairly reasonable?”

“Mmh.” Yaomomo nodded. “I think I understand that.” She couldn’t help but chuckle; Fumikage had quite literally just handed her own words back to her. _He knows me better than I know myself. _“Thank you. You always know just how to make me feel better, it seems.”

“I try.” He was laughing, too, his voice catching as he spoke. He suddenly grew somber once more. “In the future, if I ever have to go…”

“Don’t say that-”

“I want you to use the quill.” He ignored her protests. “I want you to write out your own desires, your wishes, your honest thoughts.” A pause. “I never got the chance to express my own feelings, not even to a piece of paper. To keep it all bottled up, all while continuing to selflessly service those around you- it’s painful. And it’ll drive you to do things you’ll regret. I know that if you did that… it would hurt you in ways you can’t even imagine. I’d like to prevent that.”

“...you put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you?” Yaomomo murmured. “Why do you care so much? Are you in love with me, or something?” she teased.

Fumikage stiffened, dully blinking, before averting his gaze. “No,” he muttered. “I just care for you… as a friend. That’s all.” He brushed himself off. “Just remember what I said. Use the quill when- if I have to leave you.”

“Don’t put it like that. You’ll jinx yourself.” She tucked the canister with the quill into her pocket and offered Fumikage her hands, palms up. “I took the role of detective so I could protect my friends, and that includes you. Let’s leave this Game together, alright? Let’s be heroes.”

Fumikage met her gaze. A smile was slipping across his face, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and softened those soul-piercing rubies into the irises of a boy who wanted only the best for her and nothing for himself. “Alright.” He took her hands, hesitantly; cured leather met warm skin. “I’ll let you hold onto this for now, okay?”

Yaomomo’s face split into a grin. “For now and forever.”

_As long as I can have this… I’ll be alright._

_Fumikage… we’re very similar, aren’t we?_

_I’ll make sure you’ll never have to go._

_And…_

Looking at his face, at his young, gentle smile, she could only see a little kid with no friends and no family, no place to call home but the everlasting night.

_I hope that one day, you can finally write your own secrets on my walls._

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 5/5 | Your friendship has deepened!<_

_>Fumikage’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.<_

_>You’ve learned a new skill, _ ** _Mind-Piercing Abyssal Glare_ ** _.<_

_>Obtained present : Black Quill<_

~~~

Fumikage had smiled as he was led away for his execution.

Yaomomo wondered what was going through his mind, her fury ebbing away into guilt. _I shouldn’t have snapped at him. He’s going to die thinking I hate him._

She never had a chance to apologize, to tell him she loved him, that he was her dear friend and she wished she could’ve clutched his hand a little longer, a little tighter, until he could tell her himself that he was Justice’s Blade and she could forgive him.

She never touched the quill; it sat on her desk, always there, staring her down, encapsulated in the glass tube. She didn’t touch it, not even when despair and doubt and guilt and grief gripped her heart, tearing her apart from the inside.

One day, she would stare down Tamaki’s body in a coffin and wish she had listened to Fumikage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there! this was supposed to be the last part but i really want this fic to hit 60 parts hgjhsdfk that 59 bothers me..
> 
> i want to write an fte for a girl, and my choices right now are nejire or kyouka. i personally want to write nejire because tbh i kind of actually ship nejire/yaomomo 0.0 but i also like kyouka/yaomomo and i know you guys want kyouka and nobody cares abt nejire.. so like what do i do hgshdf i cant do both


	60. Bonus 3 : Free Time Events - Nejire Hadou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka Nejire Doesn’t Have A Canon Backstory So I Have To Write One Myself Because She Exists Only As A Fanservice Character And Her Potential As A Member Of The Big Three Will Never Be Tapped Into (ft. yaomomo)
> 
> this reads more like a nejimomo ship fic than a fte.. it turns into an au at the end, plus it’s romantic. sorry it’s a little different from the other ones,,, i was a little too self-indulgent since this exists mostly to round out the chapter count to 60. enjoy my crackship. or don’t. it’s your choice lol i get crackships aren’t everyone’s cup of tea
> 
> also i feel really really bad for not having any wlw ships in the actual story.. basically the way i’d determined the ships was by asking my viewers on wattpad while i was first writing chapter 4, and they chose tododeku/kiribaku/kamijirou. my otps are miritama and mashitoshi, so i went with those as well. no wlw ships were suggested, aside from maybe like one vote for a ship that was swallowed by the mlms. tbh i didn’t even realize this problem until like months later, and i’d already written the mlm ships in by then. i’m sorry about that so take this please,, as a wlw myself i really want to write some gfs ;-;

>Chapter 1 : Daily Life<

_Ugh… _Yaomomo rose from her desk, stretching her arms over her head. Being cooped up all morning was starting to wear on her; she felt restless and, more importantly, completely unproductive. _I should go out… Find something to do._

Leaving her room, she didn’t have to look far, because a certain ‘something to do’ came running right to her not two minutes later. “Hey, hey, Yaomomo!” Walking to the cafeteria, she found Nejire running to her from the opposite end of the hallway. She was surprisingly good at not falling face-first to the floor with her heels in tow. Curiously enough, Mirio and Tamaki were nowhere to be seen.

“Ah. Hello,” the ravenette greeted as Nejire slowed to a stop in front of her, hands tucked behind her back. “How are you doing? And where did your other friends go?” Seeing the ever-social Nejire alone was an incredibly rare sight, Yaomomo figured.

“I’m fine! Mirio and Tamaki are looking for monocoins, and Tsu and Ochako are cooking together. So I’m left to my own devices for the day~!” Nejire seemed awfully happy, despite being third-wheeled by literally all of her buddies. “Hey, are you free, too? You look all alone. Do you want to hang out? I can give you a makeover! Your hair looks so poofy!” She was leaning forwards and inspecting Yaomomo’s face, reaching to flick the lock of hair dangling in front of her eye. The latter allowed her to; _her nails are painted… and she smells like flowers. Maybe it’s her hand cream._

“Sure,” Yaomomo said, a smile pulling at her lips. “I’m not against being dolled up, either.” Something about the third-year’s bubbly enthusiasm was contagious; it was impossible not to be happy around her.

“Yay! I can’t wait to learn all about you!” Nejire took her by the wrist and began dragging her down the hall again, towards the stairs. Yaomomo gladly followed. “I think blue would fit you. Or red! I think you’d look good in any color, really, other than pastels, probably. They’re a bit too soft for someone as formal as you. This muted outfit you have now fits you pretty well, but a pop of color should make you look a little more lively!” Already, the bluette was rapidly envisioning outfits for her, glancing over her shoulder as they went. Yaomomo chuckled.

“I’m sure whatever you pick out will look lovely,” she said. “And my hero outfit was red. I like the color myself, too.”

“Ooh, perfect!”

They made it to her dorm; Nejire took out her key and unlocked the door, bouncing inside and letting the ravenette inside. “Oh, wow… There’s a lot of stuff in here.”

The Ultimate Beauty Pageant Star’s bedroom was styled like the backstage dressing room for a runway walk. The floors were covered in soft, pink carpet, and the lights were bright and white enough that they didn’t interfere with seeing exactly what color certain clothes were. A massive, mahogany walk-in closet on one wall contained a massive variety of outfits, from cutesy dresses like the feathery one Nejire was wearing to exposing garments showing off thighs and bust. A set of full-body mirrors were arranged around one corner, and a white vanity with too many drawers to count sat next to it. Nejire’s bed was similar to Yaomomo’s- a canopy queen-size. “This is… incredible.” The Affluent Progeny gazed around the room. _It fits her title so well…_

“I know, right? I have no idea how they put all this together, but honestly, it’s pretty cool!” Nejire bounced over to her vanity and patted the cushioned stool. “Sit down, sit down!” I’m going to start by doing your hair~”

Yaomomo complied, and she felt Nejire tug her hairband out, her hair cascading to her shoulders. It generally flattened out when she did; only in her ponytail was it really fluffy. “Ooh, this’ll be fun to work with!” The bluette grabbed a brush and a box of hairpins from the vanity countertop, popping open the little metal case and getting to work on combing out Yaomomo’s hair. “So… Momo Yaoyorozu. I recognize your last name! Does your family own a business? I’ve definitely seen the name before!” She began to talk as she worked; the ravenette allowed herself to shut her eyes.

“Yes. My family is quite wealthy… but I don’t like talking about that. People always think I’m better than them when I do,” she murmured.

“Ah, I get that! My family’s kinda rich, too. Home is pretty nice... I’ve got a few mansions in Europe and America, too! I don’t get why people think having so much stuff defines us, though. I train just as hard! And yet some people insist on hating me ‘cause I’m part of the Big Three.” Her voice remained cheery, much to Yaomomo’s surprise. Her fingers were still moving expertly through her hair. “Oh well. I can’t really do anything about them, but as long as I can help people, it’s alright.”

“You’re surprisingly content with this,” Yaomomo mumbled. “Optimistic.”

“Of course.” Nejire’s hands wavered for half a heartbeat. “There’s no point in being down, right..? Just focus on your goals, and it’s all good.” She started to separate Yaomomo’s hair into sections for styling. “Speaking of which-!” Her voice brightened up again. “I still have a bunch of things to ask you! No point in rambling about my own life.” A laugh edged her words. “What was your hero name? Why did you come to U.A.? How does your quirk work? There’s so much I don’t know yet!”

“We have all the time in the world, though,” the Affluent Progeny murmured, smiling. “My hero name was Creati, and I was scouted to U.A.. My quirk’s name is Creation- I can turn the lipids in my body into anything I know the chemical composition of. I study a lot in order to be able to make new things.”

“Ooh! That’s so cool! So you convert the fat from the food you eat into stuff!” Nejire sounded genuinely delighted in this discovery. “It reminds me a bit of Tamaki’s quirk, actually!”

“It does?” To Yaomomo’s limited knowledge from what Eijirou had told her, Tamaki’s quirk allowed him to manifest the things he ate. He was apparently very skilled at wielding octopus tentacles. “Do you know how his quirk worked? Mine works like you just said- I can transform fat into items. There’s a limit to how much I can make.”

“Hmm... Tamaki’s body takes the composition or DNA of whatever he eats, and he can manifest that thing’s characteristics! So, like, even if he just eats swordfish meat, for example, he can still manifest fins or that pointy nose thing on swordfish!” Nejire was excitedly falling into a rant.   
“There’s no limit to Manifest, though, unlike you. He could eat just a single takoyaki ball and still activate Chimera Kraken- that’s one of his Ultimate Moves, by the way! He creates a mask from the hardened shell of crabs or shellfish and manifests a _ton_ of massive tentacles. It’s super cool!”

“Impressive.” Yaomomo smiled. “You’re really curious, aren’t you?” She couldn’t imagine her learning any of this other than endlessly pestering her friend for answers.

“Of course!” Nejire was happily finishing her underclassman’s hair now; Yaomomo had felt her braiding it and clipping it up earlier. “How can I help people if I don’t even know them?”

She paused then, stepping back and finally removing her hands from the ravenette’s hair. “All done!” Yaomomo opened her eyes to find her hair tied up in a braid crown. The rest of it was pulled back in a fishtail bun. “So, whaddya think?”

“It’s beautiful.” She was a little scared to reach up and touch it for fear of damaging it, so her hand wound up hovering an inch away from the braid. “You’re very talented in hairstyling.”

“Of course! My parents own a fashion line, so I had to learn how to do makeup and hair and outfit coordination and stuff!” In the vanity mirror, Yaomomo watched Nejire grin. “I’m glad you like it! I’ll do your makeup next! It’ll be light, don’t worry~”

Yaomomo was content with letting Nejire give her eyeliner and lipstick and blush. She continued speaking while doing so; her voice was like music, ever so bright and peppy as she talked about funny things Mirio had done -like the time he walked headfirst into a street sign- and how she met her friends and everything to know about her mentor, Ryuukyuu. She was immensely interested in other people, it seemed.

Yaomomo thought back to what she’d said earlier. _“No point in rambling about my own life.” _Was that what she believed? That she should keep all of her own thoughts bottled up and fill that empty space with knowledge of others instead? The ravenette wasn’t sure, but she dearly wished to find out.

“See you later!” Nejire called as Yaomomo left an hour or two later. “Feel free to take it all apart when you go to bed tonight, ‘cause it’s bad to sleep with your hair tight and makeup in!”

“Alright. Thank you again for your time.”

She wanted to get to know this girl, the one who was forever fixated on everything but herself.

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 1/5<_

_>Nejire’s report card has been updated based on your experience with her.<_

~~~

>Chapter 2 : Daily Life<

_...I wonder how Nejire is doing._

Yaomomo wasn’t too sure why that thought occurred to her, laying alone atop her sheets in her dorm. But she couldn’t stop thinking about that damned first trial, about the fear in Ochako’s eyes as she cried and admitted her sins, about Tsuyu rattling the chain-link fence, about Nejire, the girl with blue hair and starry eyes, sobbing words of consolation to her friend as she was shot to death at the stake.

She recalled her conversation with her, their words exchanged over a vanity and far too many shades of lipstick. She was so curious; an oddity, someone that perked Yaomomo’s interest. She’d never met anyone like that before; not Cynthia, the klutzy, loving maid, nor Kyouka, her dearest friend, the only person she could truly be herself around.

“...maybe I should go check on her.” Ochako had been close to her, and Nejire was extremely caring and intuitive towards those around her; she practically devoted her entire life to it. With that in mind, Yaomomo got moving. She brushed her teeth, straightened out her hair, grabbed something from her desk, and headed out the door.

She wandered around for a while before finding the bluette with Mirio, Tamaki, and Tsuyu in the library. She hung back, seeing the group of them together; it would be impolite to intrude, she figured. She must’ve paused a moment too long at the end of the aisle, though, because Nejire turned around at that moment.

A small smile split across her face, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes- her gaze was one of distraction, of grief. She moved to approach her before pausing, glancing over her shoulder to her other friends. Tsuyu turned, saw the ravenette, and waved in greeting; Mirio and Tamaki followed suit.

“Hey, Yaomomo!” And then Mirio was approaching her, and she found herself stuck, standing at the end of the shelf surrounded by four people. Nejire was hurrying over, as well, and her other two companions tagged along; _she’s... surprisingly happy to see me. Is it because she finally found another rich friend to relate to? Someone who tolerated her, had a family like hers and a quirk like her friend’s? It feels so odd to ask... I suppose I won’t ever know._ “How’re you holding up?”

“Ah... I’m doing alright.” Yaomomo had to admit, she was a little intimidated, despite her history of having to interact with older businesspeople. These were her upperclassmen, the ones whom she once aspired to chase after in her hero career; it was a little awkward, being stared at by all of them. “I’m sorry to bother... but I was wondering how you were doing,” she said vaguely, side-eyeing Nejire a few times in hopes that she’d notice. There was no easy way to segway this conversation, she realized; for some reason, she felt like she was asking the parents if she could go out with their daughter for a spin, and they were interrogating her to make sure she was responsible enough. _Wait, no, no, I definitely don’t feel about Nejire that way. Definitely._

Fortunately, Nejire noticed her glances and spoke up. “Were you looking for me?” she teased. Her lips tugged upwards. “I’m flattered, really. I was thinking about hanging out again, too.”

“Ah... I’m surprised you did. But I know you’re probably busy right now...”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! I’m down to hang out right now if you are. Nothing extremely important is going on here, after all.” Nejire smiled and detached herself from her friends. “I’ll see you guys later!” She grabbed Yaomomo’s wrist and began to drag her off.

“See ya!” Mirio called. Tsuyu waved; Tamaki silently watched them go.

Once they were out of the library, Nejire stopped. “Phew,” Yaomomo said, chuckling. “I was a little worried back there. It would have been so awkward to ask to drag you away if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Well, then it’s fortunate I did, right?” The bluette was smiling, although her gaze was still distant. “What would you like to do? I’d be willing to go anywhere with you.”

Nejire’s lack of enthusiasm in taking the lead was startling to the Affluent Progeny; after all, she’d been the one bouncing off the walls and dragging her to her dormitory last time. _Ochako’s death has really gotten to her, huh? _“Well... I was thinking of giving this to you.” Yaomomo removed her hand from Nejire’s, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a little metal box.

The bluette took it with wide eyes. “Oh... this is...”

“Jasmine tea. I heard you liked it from Tsu.” Yaomomo smiled. “Is it alright? I know the tea here can’t be that good, probably not as good as the leaves you get at home and the likes...” She could recognize that the brand of the tea wasn’t a name brand at a glance, but it wasn’t horrible, either. ‘Normal’ tea, she figured, for people of a normal income.

“This is perfect. I haven’t had jasmine tea in a while, actually.” Nejire was grinning that sunshine grin again, and Yaomomo couldn’t help but smile, too. The delight in her expression reached her eyes, bright with renewed life. She met the younger’s steady gaze, “Thank you so much! Let’s go to the cafeteria to try this!”

“Sure.”

The two wandered upstairs, boiled some water, and brewed the tea. Yaomomo found herself sitting in the cafeteria, sitting across from Nejire over a silver platter holding a porcelain teapot and a set of dainty, floral-patterned cups.

The Beauty Pageant Star inhaled the steam of her beverage, took a sip, and sighed. “It reminds me of home,” she murmured, her eyes clouding over. “Thank you again for this, Yaomomo.” Her expression was warm, her slim fingers delicately clutching the teacup. She looked the same age as the ravenette, almost.

“My pleasure.” Yaomomo took a sip herself and set the cup down. “So, referring to what I said earlier... how are you doing?”

“Mmh? Oh, I’m fine. Thank you for the concern, though.” Nejire’s expression said otherwise. She seemed a little distracted; the tea seemed to bring up memories of good times before everything had gone to shit. _Oh dear. Maybe I should’ve given her something more generic... _“There’s no need to worry about me, really. I miss Ochako. That’s all.” She took another long sip of her tea, her voice trailing off.

“Mmh.” Yaomomo hesitated, and a beat of pure silence passed between them; _if this were before, Nejire would be unstoppable in her rambling. _She felt a twinge in her chest at the thought. The girl before her now was nothing like the girl she’d chatted with in the dressing room dorm. “I wonder... What were you like, before, as a hero?” It was a futile attempt at conversation- a hopeless one, sure, but an attempt nonetheless. The quiet was beginning to weigh on her.

“Hmm... I wanted to help people.” The sentiment seemed to drag Nejire even farther into whatever thought spiral she was currently stuck in. “My quirk was called Wave Motion. I could create these swirls of energy from my hands and feet.” She waved one pointer finger by her head in a circular motion. “It would drain my stamina if I continuously used it. I had to train hard to build up endurance, but because I kept overusing my quirk, I would get these headaches and cramps after hero class, during my first and second years. My grades suffered because of it, too, because I’d sometimes pass out or be too distracted in class to learn anything.” She sighed heavily.

“And yet, everyone would gossip about me. I heard it all- slut, paid her way in, know-it-all, stuck up, insensitive, show-off, drama queen, attention whore, teacher’s pet. Those were the most common. I think some people even gossiped that I was a sex toy for Mirio and Tamaki, or something,” she said humorlessly, before pausing and staring into her teacup. “I wonder what they’re thinking now,” she whispered, before suddenly falling silent, as if she found her next thought too risque to say aloud.

“Ah... I’m sure they are probably regretting talking about you behind your back now,” Yaomomo said, a little shocked by some of the names Nejire had reeled off. She frowned, eyeing her with concern as the bluette sipped her tea. _She sounds so pessimistic, too... Her go-getter attitude from before is gone. Where’d her self-confidence go? _If anything, that question seemed to make her even sadder, and the sight alone, paired with her words, was enough to make Yaomomo’s throat tighten in sorrow.

_Come on, what’ll make her brighten up..? I can’t stand seeing her so upset..._ A thought occurred to her as she recalled their first conversation. “No matter what others said, you still had your real friends, right? Mirio and Tamaki. You said you met them in the first year,” Yaomomo prompted.

“That’s correct.” Nejire’s lips quirked up. “It was the first day, and I remember that I wanted to talk to everyone. It helps me remember names better, when I can put a face and voice and personality to it.” She set her cup down, her story quickly speeding up. “Tamaki’s in my class, Class A, but Mirio’s in B. They were always in the same class before, ever since first grade, y’know? So I guess he wasn’t exactly used to not having Mirio with him. But anyway, I tried to talk to him, and he seemed a little scared and said he wanted to go home. He put his head down and I asked him if he was okay, and he told me he got separated from his friend. Since the teacher wasn’t there yet, I decided to drag him out and go to the other classroom. It worked, and that’s how I met Mirio, but Tamaki and I wound up getting in trouble. I don’t think he liked that very much.” She chuckled, fully engulfed in the memory. Her eyes were bright, just like before; _she really likes talking about her friends, huh? It’s kind of endearing..._ Yaomomo couldn’t help but smile as the story went on.

“It wasn’t too bad, though. We were just told to go back to our room before our own teacher arrived. Ooh, I met another girl in homebase, too! Her name’s Yuyu. She’s one of my best friends- if only the school festival weren’t canceled this year, I would’ve participated in the beauty pageant again. She got me into doing it annually when we were first years, but I always got second.” The bluette was still smiling, though, despite the fact she was recalling her failures. “Yuyu’s super nice! She’s always really supportive, and she doesn’t judge me for having money. I was so glad when we moved into the dorms... She helped me coordinate a room that didn’t look too fancy.” Nejire faltered, a frown slipping onto her face. “She was one of my prisoners, though, in that CD the villains showed us... I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is,” Yaomomo reassured. “The villains have no reason to hurt them, right? There’s no point.”

“I hope you’re right.” Nejire shook herself off. “It’s... a little pointless, to obsess over those out of my reach, though, right? We all have to focus on the people right in front of us. I have to focus on Mirio and Tamaki and Tsu... and you... so I’ll do my best to protect all of you.”

“Oh... thank you.” The Affluent Progeny smiled; hearing her sound a little more optimistic was a relief. “I’m sure Yuyu will be okay, and we’ll all escape together, soon.”

“Yeah.” And yet, even if she was smiling, her voice seemed to have drifted to some far-off place again, a clouded gaze and watery eyes. Yaomomo frowned; _even talking about her friends couldn’t break her out of her stupor for more than a minute, huh? I expected that... but it’s still so disconcerting. _Maybe Nejire was just a sensitive person when it came to this kind of thing, she figured; she could talk to Tsuyu later about it.

“Nejire... circling back to my first question.” There was no point in inaction; maybe if Yaomomo directly asked her again, she’d get something. The bluette tilted her head, her eyes not quite meeting the Affluent Progeny’s. “Are you okay?”

A pause. Nejire seemed to hesitate, before a shut-eye smile slipped across her face, like a porcelain doll putting on a new face. “Yeah, of course I’m alright! Why wouldn’t I be?”

For some reason, her words weren’t exactly convincing. _Nejire..._

_I wish you’d talk about yourself more._

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 2/5<_

_>Nejire’s report card has been updated based on your experience with her.<_

~~~

>Chapter 4 : Daily Life<

Yaomomo would be lying if she said she wasn’t worrying more and more about a certain periwinkle-haired girl.

As the days passed, even Nejire’s appearance was beginning to change. Her dress seemed to be loose in places, as if she’d been rapidly losing weight. Her hair was unbrushed, cascading down her back in a singular wave of periwinkle rather than the bow-like style it had bore before. She seemed distant; quieter. Her voice often lacked enthusiasm, instead coming out strained when she tried to keep up her perky personality. Her curiosity dwindled; Yaomomo often saw her wandering around with the Big Three or Tsuyu, but she didn’t seem to be in any mood to take the lead.

Yaomomo could tell that her other friends were beginning to notice the change, too; Tamaki gazed upon her with concern, and Mirio with sympathy. Tsuyu was less obvious about her thoughts, but her lingering looks to the bluette’s back gave her away.

The ravenette found herself talking with said jadette in a deserted corner of the library one day. “Tsu... do you think Nejire’s okay..?” she murmured, staring at the back of the closed novel in her lap. Tsuyu put her own book down as she replied.

“Well... She does seem a little out of it,” she murmured. “I don’t know what’s going on in her head... She never talks about it.” She paused, placing a finger to her chin. “She sometimes talks about you, though, y’know.”

“E-Eh? Really?” Yaomomo tilted her head, her eyes widening; for some reason, her cheeks were suddenly burning. She bashfully raised one palm to cover her lower face. “Why?”

“Hmm... She was saying the other day, after the trial, that you were really smart and looked cool, leading everyone. She described you as a ‘real hero’. What that means to her, I don’t know. But it’s clear she likes you and thinks you’re nice,” Tsuyu said. “That’s all.” She fell quiet after that, returning to her book. “Maybe you should talk with her again, sometime soon. It would cheer her up.”

Yaomomo recalled the smile on her face when she saw the ravenette in the library, way back when Kouji was still alive and Hanta was the one carrying the trials. _I... want to see her smile like that again, _she suddenly decided._ I want to see her smiling for me... _The thought was strange for her; it sounded almost romantic, even.

_I just care for her, that’s all. She’s a good friend... and we have a lot in common, _Yaomomo tried to reason. _I’m just as worried for Kyouka, aren’t I? _The Musician wasn’t faring much better, compared to Nejire. _I have to keep a closer eye on them both._ “Maybe you’re right,” she murmured to Tsuyu’s suggestion.

After leaving the library an hour later, she found it to be only three in the afternoon. _I still have some time... Let’s make do on what Tsu said._ She hurried back to her room, grabbing a gashapon capsule from the desk, and went out searching. After wandering around for a while and asking a couple people if they’d seen the Beauty Pageant Star around, Yaomomo found her in the laundry room, alone.

“Oh, hi, Yaomomo.” A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she turned and met her gaze. “How are you? You don’t look like you’re here to do the laundry.”

“I was looking for you, actually.” Yaomomo approached her; there were hints of bags under her navy eyes. “Do you want help, or anything?” It looked like she was loading her spare set of clothes into the washer.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. We can go to my room after this, if you’d like to hang out.”

“Sure.”

After she was done loading it, Nejire shut the lid of the washing machine and picked up her empty hamper. “Let’s go.”

The two walked down to the Beauty Pageant Star’s room. Upon entering, Yaomomo found it a mess, compared to before; the closet was untouched, but the bed wasn’t made and a variety of makeup products were scattered across the vanity top. “Ah, excuse the mess...” Nejire dimmed the lights, hastily straightened out the sheets, removed her heels, and patted the top of the bed. “Don’t be shy. Take off your shoes and sit down.”

Yaomomo obliged, leaving her boots on the floor. She clambered up next to the bluette, who had laid down on the mattress, her cerulean tresses pooling around her. A beat of silence passed between them; again, the stillness of the formerly-bubbly girl next to her was disconcerting for Yaomomo. “Ahem... Well... I brought this for you.” She pulled the gift she’d brought out of her pocket. “For you.”

“Ah... Thanks...” Nejire took the object and inspected it. It was a small, plastic cube with a lens on the top. “What is it..?”

“It projects a lightshow of the night sky. Since this one is small, it fits perfectly with the top of the canopy bed,” Yaomomo explained. She laid down so that she was shoulder-to-shoulder with her friend.

“Oh... Let’s try it out, then.” Nejire opened the gashapon capsule, set the projector between them, and turned it on. Instantly, a bloom of violet and silver stars burst across the silk drapes over the two girls’ heads. “Wow... It looks... magical.” Almost involuntarily, she reached up, as if she wished to grasp the artificially realistic galaxies in her palms. “Thank you so much, Yaomomo. It’s beautiful.” The bluette tilted her head to properly look at the ravenette; the latter turned, too, and found herself almost nose-to-nose with her, the floral aroma of her perfume or lotion or both wreathing around them. _Her eyes... are like real stars._

And for a moment, Yaomomo could neither see nor think about anything but the sad girl illuminated by the light of a hundred celestial mirages before her, smiling a distant smile. “You look pretty,” suddenly escaped her lips, the words soft as a feather. Nejire giggled, letting her hand fall back to her chest.

“What was that?” She sounded a bit more relaxed, a hint of a tease even edging her voice.

“N-Nothing.” Yaomomo felt her ears erupt into flame. She averted her gaze. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

“Mmh.” Nejire turned back to the stars over their heads. She was growing distant once more, her gaze drifting off as she fell back into thought. _Now... This is my chance to act..._

“Erm… Nejire.” Yaomomo wasn’t sure why she was finding the words difficult to say. Her companion’s cerulean eyes landed on her, and she stiffened. “Well... I suppose I should just cut to the chase. What’s wrong?”

“Hm? What do you mean, what’s wrong?” Nejire tried to act nonchalant, but the startled, deer-in-headlights look in her expression gave her away.

“Something is clearly bothering you.” Yaomomo sat up so that she could stare over the bluette from above. “It’s okay to talk a bit about yourself sometimes, you know? You don’t always have to be so fixated on only your friends. I’d be glad to listen to any of your worries, whether it’s things from the past or the present.”

“Oh… no, I couldn’t do that…” Nejire bit her lip and turned onto her side, so that Yaomomo was now staring at her dripping, flowing waterfall of sky-blue hair instead. “I’m a hero… and heroes don’t shove their problems on others, right? You have to be strong. Have hope. That kind of stuff.” There was no energy in her words; it sounded more as if she were forcing them out of her mouth. “And besides, I’m sure you don’t want to hear the supposed role model for U.A.’s student body venting all their problems to you. That would bring all kinds of despair, wouldn’t it?”

“Nejire…” Yaomomo leaned over and placed a hand on her shoulder, tugging her over so that they were now staring at each other, Nejire gazing up and Yaomomo down. The former’s eyes were hazy as the ravenette tried to search for a sign of emotion in her expression. “You don’t have to be strong all the time. Heroes feel emotion too, and you’ll only hurt those around you more if you keep it all inside. And I don’t care if you’re older than me or if you’re a member of the Big Three- I just want to see you happy, as my friend. That’s all.”

Nejire hesitated, averting her gaze. “You... want to listen to me talk about all the bad stuff? Don’t you want to hear good news and happy memories, instead? Everybody does... so doesn’t it make you disappointed when you learn about the negative things?”

“No.” Yaomomo’s chest ached with sympathy; the fear of letting others down was one she had herself, too. _Is it a rich family thing? _“Where’d you get that idea?”

“My parents, probably,” she explained. She sighed and pushed herself into a sitting position, eyes fixed to the mattress. “They were always perfect and fearless and told me to be, as well. They were too busy for me to talk to them much, and if I did, I never had the courage to confide in them, because they wouldn’t understand.” Her voice shuddered. “So... I’ve never told anyone anything. Not even Yuyu or Mirio and Tamaki. I’ve always just acted as if nothing bothered me, even if it was the only thing I could think about.”

“It’s alright.” Yaomomo placed a hand on the bluette’s shoulder. “It’s okay to confide in people. They can help you if they know what’s wrong, and everyone’s better off in the end. Heroes often work best when teaming up, right?”

“If you insist.” Nejire curled up, tucking her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “You really want to know what’s bothering me, huh? That’s a first. I suppose I should tell you.

“It’s about Ochako. And Mina. I was close to both of them, you know? They were my good friends... and I should’ve been able to help them.” Her voice cracked, and her eyes grew glassy. She rested her face on her arms. “And yet... I didn’t. I failed them..! The entire reason I’m so curious, the reason I want to be a hero, is to help others! All my life, I’ve only _wanted _to do that, to make them happy!” She was crying, then, tears dripping down her cheeks and falling to her legs as her words became punctured with sobs. Yaomomo couldn’t help but reach out and gather her into her arms; the bluette immediately latched onto her, burying her face in Yaomomo’s chest and wrapping her arms around her midriff.

“I... I did well in school to p-please my parents... I did modeling work for that, too..!” Nejire continued. “I- I went to U.A.... because my parents wanted me to! I did the beauty pageant f-for Yuyu, and fought to improve so Mirio and Tamaki would be impressed, so that people would stop t-talking about me..!” Yaomomo began to rub her back, clutching the crying girl tightly against her. She hadn’t realized how small she was, despite being older, until now. “M-Maybe... Maybe I’m really just selfish, b-because I want people to tell me I did it right, that I’m a good person... But in the end... I still wanted to help others! So I should’ve been able to save Ochako!”

She fell quiet after that, sobbing as she allowed Yaomomo to console her. “There, there. It’s okay. It’s not your fault- if it is, then _all _of us are at fault, too. Maybe everyone could’ve done a little more to help them. But that’s all in the past, and you can’t dwell on it. Look to the future and protect those still close to you, instead,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure how much of it Nejire heard, but she didn’t really mind.

After a while, Nejire calmed down enough to stop crying, instead curling up against Yaomomo while sniffling and attempting to control her hitching breath. “Th-Thank you...”

“Not a problem.” The ravenette ran her fingers through Nejire’s hair, undoing the slight knots in her long locks. Overhead, the fake stars cast a silvery-violet mist over their figures, bodies held close enough that they seemed to have become one. “I’m glad you could confide in me. You can’t change the past, but you can change the future, alright?”

“Right. I’ll... I’ll protect my friends. I’ll make sure they won’t be hurt anymore...” Nejire gently eased herself out of Yaomomo’s arms, so that she could look at her properly. Her own eyes were watery and her face flushed, but her lips were shakily pulling into a smile. “Thanks, again. I’m glad you’re always there for me.”

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 3/5<_

_>Nejire’s report card has been updated based on your experience with her.<_

~~~

>Chapter 6 : Daily Life<

A few days had passed since Izuku’s execution.

Yaomomo had to admit, she was surprised by Shouto’s swift detachment from the jade-haired boy. It wasn’t really like him, but there was no point dwelling on it, she figured. If he wanted to try and move on, she certainly wasn’t going to be the one to drag him back down.

The atmosphere of the group was fairly light. Hitoshi and Mashirao were a pair, as were Mei and Tooru and Mirio and Tamaki. Nejire was also growing more attached to Tsuyu, Yaomomo noticed; apparently the former had begun caring for her friend like a parent would. For some reason, the thought of them spending so much time together made Yaomomo feel a little jealous; she wasn’t sure why, considering the fact that Tsuyu was clearly in a bad place mentally and Nejire was simply protecting those close to her. She was only doing what her friend encouraged her to, right?

Besides, Nejire had every right to resent her now, after what happened before and during the trial. Although the memories were hazy, Yaomomo could briefly recall attacking her under the influence of the despair disease. And even when she _was _fully in control, she’d been emotionless in suspecting her friend. For one of the first times since Hanta’s death, she felt guilty; in hindsight, she regretted following that line of thought in the case. Nejire had helped her during investigation, and she’d been assaulted even before that. If anything, Yaomomo owed her.

She had been just dwelling on the idea, leaving her dorm in the morning, when she ran into a certain Nejire Hadou- the first and last person she wanted to see, much to her dismay. “Ah... hello.”

“Hi, Yaomomo.” Nejire was smiling, though, as she approached her. She was alone, surprisingly. “Are you busy? Do you want to hang out?”

“Oh, I...” For a moment, Yaomomo considered turning her down. The Detective was unforgivable- why Nejire was still trying to hang out with her was beyond her. And yet, staring at her tired, yet smiling face, she realized the despair of disappointing her wasn’t an option, either. “Sure. I’d love to.” It wasn’t a lie.

Nejire’s face practically lit up. “Alright! What do you want to do?”

The two spent a while hunting for monocoins, before stopping in the cafeteria for jasmine green tea. It reminded her of a teatime long ago, when Yaomomo had sat down at this exact table with her after Ochako’s execution and asked if she were alright. She idly gazed upon the blue-haired girl holding her teacup before her, wondering if she bore any resentment towards her.

“Hm? Wh-Why are you staring?” Yaomomo blinked, not realizing that Nejire’s cerulean gaze was suddenly locked with hers. She turned away sheepishly; the dusting of pink blossoming in the older girl’s cheeks was sort of cute.

“I was just thinking... about something. Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Nejire set her teacup down and moved to pull something out of the messenger bag she’d been toting around during their monocoin hunt, since her outfit didn’t bear pockets. “Anyway, I wanted to give this to you.” She extended her palm to Yaomomo, a gashapon capsule on the larger side sitting in the curve of her delicate hand. The ravenette slowly took it.

Within the capsule was a Russian nesting doll. It was painted to look like a penguin, with little blue eyes the color of the sky. They reminded Yaomomo vaguely of Nejire’s; she tried to shake the thought away. “This is adorable... thank you so much. How did you know I like nesting dolls?” She pocketed the capsule.

“Ah, well...” Nejire chuckled bashfully. “I asked Tsu.”

“Oh.” Yaomomo decided not to dwell on the thought of Nejire talking to her friend about her. “That’s sweet...”

“I’m just glad you like it in the end.” The bluette seemed content with her; the Detective fell quiet, musing over her behavior and sipping her tea. _Why’s she being so nice to me? Maybe she really still resents me from before. Should I bring it up? If she wants to gloss over it, I’d be happy to let her._

“Yaomomo? Are you alright?” Nejire suddenly asked, making Yaomomo nearly drop her cup. “Sorry for startling you... but you look a little stressed.” Her lips were pulled in a small frown, and her cloudy eyes were soft with worry.

“...was I being too obvious? I thought I was hard to read.”

“No, not really. I’m just good at noticing the little things in people. It’s a talent you get after doing it for years,” Nejire hastily reassured. “But _is _there something wrong?”

“Well, I was just wondering...” She set her teacup down in the saucer and rested her cheek on her hand, elbow against the table. “What do you think of me? Honestly.”

“Huh?” Was she imagining it, or was Nejire blushing? “I think you’re a good friend... um, you’re very smart... and you’re pretty brave. Maybe digging so in-depth in the cases is a little much, but there’s no other option, right? I think you look kinda cool, too, leading us like a hero.” She looked away. “That’s my honest opinion.”

“Oh... Thank you for that.” Yaomomo couldn’t help but crack a small smile. “But I mean... Do you dislike me? Or think I’m insensitive?” Her lips fell back into a frown, and she averted her gaze.

“Why do you think I do?” Nejire faltered. “Is this about the trial, or something?”

“Yeah. I suspected you, even though you helped me during investigation... and even before that, I assaulted you while I was inflicted with Despair Disease. And I was wondering, after the verdict- was I too cruel? Shouto was so hurt by the result of the case... I don’t want to hurt people like that,” Yaomomo said, biting her lip. In her peripheral, she saw Nejire tilt her head in thought.

“There’s no need for an apology or anything, you know,” she finally said.

“Eh?”

“You’re feeling regretful for assaulting and suspecting me, right? That’s basically what you’re saying,” Nejire figured. Yaomomo turned to properly look at her; there was a slight smile on her face. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were sick with the Disease- that wasn’t something you can control. Besides, it’s not like anything bad happened- you just jumped on me, I pushed you off, and ran away.” She paused then, hesitant in her words. “And... there’s no avoiding the truth in the trials, right? You were right in the fact that Mirio and Tamaki and I had the map. So there’s nothing to feel bad for, really.” She leaned over the tabletop, arms folded under her bust. “If that’s out of the way... are you alright, then? Is there anything else bothering you? I’d be glad to help.”

Yaomomo paused, before a smile slipped across her face. “Yeah. If someone can forgive me and still tolerate me despite all that I did... then I’m alright.”

“You were that worried over just that?” Her eyes widened. “You looked plenty stressed out to me back there,” she teased. “Am I really worth that much thought?”

“Probably, yes.” She grinned as the bluette’s ears turned red. Her voice softened. “Thank you, Nejire. For everything.”

“Oh. No problem.” She blinked, frowning. “I don’t think I’m doing anything that special... but if you say so.”

As they resumed having tea and making small talk, Yaomomo couldn’t help but linger on those words. _Nejire... You wouldn’t know how much you mean to me._ Naive as she could sometimes be, she wasn’t dense, nor one to deny her own emotions. _Maybe I’ve thought this for a while now, and you probably don’t feel the same, but..._

In their present conversation, Nejire laughed at something Yaomomo had said- it was a musical sound, light and free, a small respite from all the exhaustion of her days. The ravenette smiled; her voice was beautiful.

_To me, I think you’re pretty special._

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 4/5<_

_>Nejire’s report card has been updated based on your experience with her.<_

~~~

>Chapter 8 : Daily Life<

_Tamaki..._

_How cruel can you be..?_

Yaomomo sighed, turning over in bed, too restless to simply rest. She’d gone upstairs after activating the device the day prior to find Nejire. The Florist had shot the fellow Big Three member down and shut the door in her face, leaving her crying alone in the common space outside his dorm. Shouto and Tsuyu had been with her; the former offered Yaomomo the explanation he’d managed to extract from Nejire while the ravenette hugged her blue-haired friend and allowed her to sob in her arms.

Later, after Tsuyu accompanied Nejire back to her own room, Yaomomo spent a good ten minutes yelling at Tamaki through his door. She wasn’t sure how much of it he heard, but the idea of the words reaching him was good enough. She hadn’t seen him emerge since.

_Was I too harsh? _she briefly wondered in the present, sitting up in bed. She’d told him exactly how much he hurt her friend and that he was a bitch. Nejire’s cries came back to mind, drowning out the thought. _No, he probably deserved that. _To say such horrible things to someone who’d just lost one of her best friends was most certainly unwarranted for, even if said best friend was also Tamaki’s lover.

On top of all of that, the trial was still weighing heavily on her heart. Nejire’s words, during her delirious self-proclamation as the blackened, were ringing in her ears. _Did she mean that..? Does she really think I’m mean and cruel? Or was that grief clouding her head? _The thought of the bluette even slightly disliking her felt like a stab to the gut. _I should check up on her, ask her about that._

Yaomomo headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, before moving to head out the door. However, much to her surprise, she found someone knocking when she was only a few steps away. “H-Hey... Yaomomo? Are you in there?”

“Eh? Nejire?” The ravenette hurried to open the door, finding the third-year standing outside, a plush bathrobe draped over her usual dress. Her hair was unstyled and undecorated, but it was brushed, flowing like a celestial waterfall over her small figure. She was holding her hands behind her back, and she seemed to smile, just a little, as her weary eyes landed on Yaomomo. “I was just thinking of paying you a visit, actually... come in.”

Nejire wordlessly entered, shuffling along in slippers. The Detective could now see that she was clutching a paper bag in her pale hands. _Wonder what that is. _The bluette halted in the center of the room, with its oak flooring and grand bed. “Kind of feels like home, huh?” the ravenette murmured. “You can sit down on the bed.”

“Okay...”

The two quickly found themselves sitting face to face atop the mattress. Nejire averted her eyes; the paper bag was still sitting behind her. “Um, I just wanted to say... sorry. For what I said in the trial.” Her voice was small and shaky, as if speaking were tiring to her. “I went too far... I don’t know what I was thinking. I certainly don’t think you’re as cruel as a murderer, even if hearing Mirio’s death spoken so casually about hurt.”

“It’s alright.” Yaomomo smiled. Hearing Nejire explain what she’d said in the trial eased some of the worry in her head. “I’m sorry, too, for the way I go about solving the cases. I know it’s a little cold, but I honestly don’t really know how else to do it.” That wasn’t a lie, either. To feel grief- she wasn’t sure how to do it anymore. Maybe if someone she admired or cared for deeply, like Shouto or Nejire, died, then perhaps she could be hurt again. She hoped it wouldn’t happen, though.

“Mmh. I can understand that, kind of.” Nejire suddenly picked up the paper bag. “I... wanted to give this to you, too.”

“Hm?” Yaomomo took the bag and peered into it. Her eyes widened as they landed upon the item. “This is...”

She reached in and brought it out, into the light. Within her palm was a hairpiece, consisting of a blue velvet rose on a black clip. A square of black webbing and crimped, light blue silk sprouted like leaves from under it. “This is gorgeous... Wow. Thank you so much.” She turned back to Nejire; the girl was smiling, despite herself and her wounded heart and mind. “Why give this to me?”

“Well... I made it myself. I started working on it ages ago, actually. I finished it earlier, because I couldn’t stop thinking about how you were comforting me, after Tamaki... shut me out.” Her expression faltered for a moment. She looked down. “You’re always there for me... even if I hurt you, even if everyone else leaves me. I don’t deserve that kind of care... and yet, you still give it to me. I wanted to give you something in return to express my gratitude.”

“Of course you deserve to be cared for, Nejire,” Yaomomo soothed, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “You’re so selfless, and empathetic and loving... and you never mean to hurt anyone. You always regret it, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose... Thank you for that.” She paused, her gaze falling to the headpiece still in Yaomomo’s hand. “Hey... Do you know what the blue rose symbolizes?”

“Well... partially.” The Detective removed her palm from Nejire’s shoulder, instead cupping her gift in both hands and holding it up. “I know they represent mystery and the unattainable, since they don’t naturally occur.”

“True.” Nejire was staring at the velvet blossom, too. “Have you ever heard of the legend of the blue rose?”

“Surprisingly, no.” Yaomomo’s silver gaze returned to her friend. “Would you mind telling me?”

“The story originated in China ages ago... although there are variations of it from many places around the world. Basically, the Emperor’s daughter was getting married, and she said she’d only marry a man who could bring her a blue rose. Many tried and failed, coming up with all sorts of tricks to make fake blue roses... In the end, she wanted to marry the gardener’s son. He presented her with a white rose, but she declared it as blue, and they were wedded.” She fidgeted, clasping her hands together in her lap as she fell silent.

“Interesting...” Yaomomo turned back to the headpiece. “But why tell me this..? And why give me a blue rose..?”

A hesitant pause. And then, much to her surprise, Nejire began to laugh. “What’s so funny?” The ravenette couldn’t help but smile; Nejire’s laugh was still light and youthful, devoid of the grief and horrors that plagued her. It was like a deity’s rays cutting through the darkness.

“F-For someone so smart... You can be a little dense,” she replied, her tone still alight with energy- whether anxious or happy, Yaomomo couldn’t tell. She was grinning when she met the Detective’s confused, silver gaze. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide~” she teased.

“Oh, that’s just mean.” Yaomomo playfully batted her on the arm, chuckling. “But I’ll figure it out. Soon.”

“I hope you do.” Nejire’s lips were still curved upwards- a rare sight, seeing her so upbeat. Yaomomo would give anything, as long as she would keep smiling. “I trust that you will... After all, you’re my best friend.”

“You’re mine, too.” Joy bubbled in her stomach. To still be liked by her, even after all that she did- Yaomomo couldn’t think of any greater blessing. “Let’s escape together, okay?” She extended one hand to her. “We could move in, at one of my houses or yours, along with Tsu. I’ll help you make amends with Tamaki, and we could all live as one happy family. I want to care for you, and remind you of all the good things in life, and we can make tea and fly kites and watch the sunset on the terrace... Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“It does. I’d like that a lot.” Nejire’s face lit up, and for once, Yaomomo could see the old Nejire in her, the delightful member of the Big Three who loved to ask questions and fly alongside birds. “I want to go to museums with you, and model with you, and take you places and cook for you, too... so it’s a promise. If you think we can escape... then maybe we really can, because you’re the only person I believe in.”

She placed her hand in Yaomomo’s, flames flickering to life from a mere brush of their skin. The latter smiled. “I won’t let you down, Nejire.”

_As long as I know you still care for me..._

_As long as I have a future to look forward to with you..._

_I think I could learn to feel again._

_>Obtained friendship fragment : 5/5 | Your friendship has deepened!<_

_>Nejire’s report card has been updated based on your experience with her.<_

_>You’ve learned a new skill, _ ** _Peoplewatcher_ ** _.<_

_>Obtained present : Decorative Hair Accessory<_

~~~

Yaomomo dizzily wondered how it came to this, standing in the middle of the podiums with a velvet rose in her hair, fire catching to wood as it rose in cerulean spirals towards the scorched ceiling. The blazing tongues were devouring all of the oxygen in the room, threatening to suck the air from her lungs and choke her. Any sound outside of her new fiery prison was obsolete; she could barely hear anything but the blood in her ears and the roar of the flames.

She staggered backwards, tripped, and fell to her knees as Dabi began to approach. “I’ve got you right where I want.” His cruel smile and cool glare were illuminated with blue, blue like the dying sky, blue like Nejire’s eyes, _blue like the flames caging them in. _“Say goodbye.”

Yaomomo could do nothing but sit still as the inferno rose, higher and higher, reaching for the sky as she found death drawing closer and closer to her. “Why..?” Voices were echoing in her head, but she could barely discern the words. “Why... are you doing this to me..?”

“Didn’t Hitoshi ask the same thing two seconds ago? I already gave you my answer.” His tone was irritable; merciless. The pounding in Yaomomo’s head was growing louder with every passing, strangled breath.

“Why won’t you kill me already?” she whimpered, her voice cracking. She couldn’t think now, couldn’t move; despair clawed at her heart, and she found herself alone, like all the times before, and help wasn’t coming. “Why have you trapped me... alone?”

“This is a test, and you are the subject,” Dabi drawled, smiling. “The variables are all in place- a trapped environment, alone with someone stronger than you, and the hope of rescue extinguished. And the result: you’re breaking apart.” He raised his hand, engulfed in flames, ready to kill her. “It’s truly beautiful, how even the strongest, the fittest of the fit, the survivors, are so easily crushed.”

He pulled his arm back, preparing to strike. “Bye-bye, our dearest little detective.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the pain, for death’s frozen grasp; it sounded like somebody was screaming within her mind, calling her names and calling for her taxi down the road to hell, but she couldn’t understand the words anymore. They had faded into mere, obscure letters in her rotting mind.

And yet, nothing happened.

_Why?_

She opened her eyes, only to find Dabi gone and the flames slowly spreading across the floor towards her.

_And there was somebody a meter away from her, dragging themselves towards her across the ruined ground._

“...Nejire?” Yaomomo’s head was spinning. “What are you doing here?!”

Dabi had left her for dead in this impenetrable room of fire, and her best friend was suddenly with her.

“Y-Yaomomo!” Nejire flinched, her voice strained with pain as she finally crumpled against the ravenette, her arms wrapped around her. “I... I saw Dabi... preparing to kill you... so I jumped off of Ryuukyuu to reach you.” Her breath was ragged, her chest heaving. “And yet... when he saw me falling in... he stopped and left...”

_Despair. _Wasn’t that what Monokuma had once said the villains wanted? _To die alone with the girl you love... how despairful the sentiment is._ “Why did you come down here?” Yaomomo murmured. Staring over the bluette’s shoulder, she could see that one of her legs was clearly broken and bloodied. “You’ve hurt yourself, too...”

“I don’t care if I get hurt,” Nejire cried. Her tears, hot and vaporizing by the minute, were dripping onto the Detective’s skin. “But... if you died... and I never even tried to help you, then what reason do I have to live..?!” Her fingernails were digging into Yaomomo’s back as she held onto her like a lifeline. “If I failed even you... like I failed Ochako and Mina and Mirio and Tamaki... then I’d rather just die!”

“...why..?” Yaomomo whispered, droplets pooling in her own eyes. The flames were inching closer, ever so agonizingly slowly. It would take ages for it to spread close enough, and no hero in their right mind could possibly fly in and get them out, not with the overwhelming heat in the room. “Why me..? Why do you still care for someone who hurt you and accused you and wound up killing your last friend?”

“Because I love you!” And then the world skipped a beat, Yaomomo’s eyes widening as Nejire sobbed over her shoulder. “I love you, Momo!”

“Nejire..?”

“I- I wanted to escape with you!” she continued, the words coming out almost in screams as they were torn from her parched throat. “I wanted... to live with you, to go on dates and cook together and fly kites! I wanted to tell you I loved you, and- and if you ever found it in yourself... if you ever managed to love me, too... I wanted to marry you, and we could grow old together..!” She was sobbing, burying herself in Yaomomo’s body. “B-But... even if we couldn’t do all that... I still wanted you to at least know my feelings..!”

And then she fell back into tears, crying her heart out as the Detective fervently returned the embrace, holding her broken body in her arms as she began to cry, too. “Nejire, I... I love you, too.”

Silence fell between them, two girls holding onto each other for dear life as the flames inched ever closer. Tears fell to the dusty floor, evaporating upon contact. Sweat was pouring down Yaomomo’s face, as well as Nejire’s, but neither of them cared; neither could bear to let go of the other, even if their flush bodies were burning each other up.

Yaomomo didn’t even notice when a pair of crimson feathers descended from the ceiling, coated in a thin layer of fire-proof fibers to combat the blaze. They pierced through the backs of the two’s collars respectively and began to lift them out, swiftly and carefully avoiding the dancing flames.

“Hey... Nejire... We’re being saved, aren’t we?” Snapping out of her trance, the Detective turned to her friend, only to find her eyes closed and limbs limp. Blood was still dripping down her leg. “Nejire?” She didn’t dare reach out, for fear of striking fire, but at least the bluette was clearly alive; her chest heaved for oxygen. Yaomomo herself was feeling light-headed, too.

The pair were lifted out into the ruins of the lobby, where Hawks and Ryuukyuu were waiting for them. The feathers dropped Yaomomo against the former; he carefully eased her into his arms and started to fly outside. “Can you speak? Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked. Behind them, Ryuukyuu, in human form, was carrying Nejire.

“Yeah, I can talk...” She coughed, the smoke finally getting to her as she was back in a space with clean air. “I’m not hurt... but I’m dizzy. And Nejire’s leg...”

“That’s alright. We’ll get her fixed up, and you, too,” Hawks reassured, carrying her out under the cerulean sky. She flinched and shut her eyes, burying her face into his jacket edge; she hadn’t recalled the day ever being quite so bright.

The sudden light of the sun had only made the pounding in her head grow tenfold. Dazed, she found herself slipping away, darkness overtaking her as the far too many voices around her melted into peaceful silence.

~~~

Ten years later, Yaomomo would look back on the day as an extraordinary one.

“Hey, Momo.” Nejire grinned, setting her chopsticks down to rest across the rim of her bowl. Yaomomo smiled, setting her own down as well; staring at her fiancé in the dying backlight of the dining hall’s massive windows made it seem as if she were glowing. “I was just wondering- do you want to go out tomorrow? Just anywhere, or for a meal, or something.” She brushed her shoulder-length hair out of her face, and the rose-gold band on her ring finger glinted against the sunlight.

“Of course.” The ravenette’s lips were caught in a permanent upwards curve. “Want to go to a garden? Or perhaps the beach? Any time spent with you is always fun.”

“A garden sounds nice.”

After so long, catching a break like this together was an incredibly rare treat for both of them. Yaomomo had decided to propose at the start of the summertime, when school was off and she didn’t have as many teaching responsibilities. Nejire’s schedule was pretty much hit and miss- she worked part-time as a baker and took modeling jobs once or twice a month. The ravenette had made sure that she didn’t have any major plans for the near future, though; as important as marriage was, it would be a hassle if it interfered with Nejire’s work.

They’d both decided to take a vacation in Nejire’s mansion up north until the wedding, accompanied by a staff of maids whom both of them personally knew. Of course, the head of the house often insisted on cooking with Yaomomo, though, since they usually never got the chance to do so after they were out of college. As for their honeymoon, Yaomomo was pretty sure she’d be flying with Nejire in their private jet around the world, visiting random places and giving charity alike. She was sure the two would be distributing millions to the less fortunate all across the globe, just like the year before.

After dinner, they brought the dishes to the kitchen, at which point two maids eagerly took them off of their hands, leaving the couple to their own whims. “How about we go out onto the balcony to watch the sunset?” Yaomomo suggested.

“That sounds nice~ Let’s go!” Nejire took her by the wrist and led her down the hall, into a glass elevator, and up to the top floor. Entering their shared bedroom, Yaomomo pushed open the sliding glass door to the deck and its oak floorboards, white wicker chair, and pillows.

“Oh, how nice it is up high,” Nejire remarked, stretching her arms over her head. The breeze sent ripples through her ivory silk gown, tugging it against her side. She sat down right next to Yaomomo, who was wearing a similar garment, only with a real, crimson rose pinned in her hair to differentiate.

They sat in silence for a brief minute, fingers locked together as Yaomomo stared out over the edge. The sky was painted with a large blanket of clouds, massive plumes illuminated pastel-pink by the sunset, slathered all across the horizon and higher. Beyond the cotton-candy dreamworld, a hint of pale, white wisps peeked out, like an army made of pearls charging over magenta hills. To their left, the sun was sinking swiftly out of sight. “This is like... a dream come true, isn’t it?” Nejire whispered, her voice riding on the wind. Yaomomo turned, finding herself trapped in those oh-so stunning navy eyes and glassy pupils. “Finally... we can live happily ever after.”

“Yeah.” The ravenette detached her hand from Nejire’s, instead hooking it around her midsection, holding themselves together under the swiftly dying sky. “Even if I broke a thousand other promises, back then... I’m glad this was the one I kept.”

Smiling, Nejire kissed her, petal-soft lips against Yaomomo’s, and they felt as if nothing had ever gone wrong in their lives.

_>Achieved True Ending : Nejire Hadou<_

_>Obtained Present : Bridal Bouquet of Blue Roses<_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to everyone who has read even this- thank you for sticking with this all the way to the end! i'm impressed you even managed to get through my crackship bs ;)


End file.
